Retribution
by Zantana
Summary: In one life, Naruto Uzumaki was executed for bringing the traitorous Uchiha back. In another life, he was betrayed by the man he respected the most. This is the story of Harribel and an unexpected companion coming back to the elemental nations. Naruto is Harribel fic! ON HIATUS!
1. Prologue A Failure's Return!

**Okay, so I had this idea stuck in my head for a while now, and at first it seemed WAAAY too much like a crack idea….so naturally I'm trying this out. **

**The summary is what if Tier Harribel was Naruto Uzumaki in the past, and became who she is by the oh-so-overused plot of Naruto being executed by Konohagakure. What if Harribel had died when Aizen attacked her, and met up with Kami himself, who lets her go back to the elemental nations with a companion that makes this whole story somewhat of a crack fic…..…..so yeah….**

**PS: AKATSUKI WILL BE GOOD IN THIS FIC! KONOHA WILL MOSTLY BE A ATAGONIST, EXCEPT FOR A FEW SELECT CLANS!**

**Well, I gave a pretty big summary there, so let's begin this fic already…**

**Some warnings: I'll always start with a song, and if * **_**this appears* **_**it'll be the theme at the moment. Beware of MAJOR CUSSING THROUGHOUT THE STORY! PAIRING PROBABLY WON'T CHANGE! **

**I'm done ranting, so let's begin the story! ^.^**

* * *

_I remembered black skies, the lightning all around me_

_I remembered each flash as time began to blur_

_Like a startling sign that fate had finally found me_

_And your voice was all I heard that I get what I deserve_

_So give me reason to prove me wrong, to wash this memory clean_

_Let the floods cross the distance in your eyes_

_Give me reason to fill this hole, connect the space between_

_Let it be enough to reach the truth that lies across this new divide_

_There was nothing in sight but memories left abandoned_

_There was nowhere to hide, the ashes fell like snow_

_And the ground caved in between where we were standing_

_And your voice was all I heard that I get what I deserve_

_So give me reason to prove me wrong, to wash this memory clean_

_Let the floods cross the distance in your eyes across this new divide_

_In every loss, in every lie, in every truth that you'd deny_

_And each regret and each goodbye was a mistake too great to hide_

_And your voice was all I heard that I get what I deserve_

_So give me reason to prove me wrong, to wash this memory clean_

_Let the floods cross the distance in your eyes_

_Give me reason to fill this hole, connect the space between_

_Let it be enough to reach the truth that lies across this new divide_

_Across this new divide, across this new divide_

_~ New Divide by Linkin Park ~_

* * *

~ Unknown Place ~

Everything was a sea of white to the former Tres Espada, Tier Harribel.

"Where….am I?" She muttered to herself, and glanced warily around at her surroundings. "Why am I here…? What happened?" Everything came rushing back to the woman, and she clutched her head in agony. The man she had once called so favorably Aizen-sama had slashed her across the chest, and declared her worthless and then left her for dead.

Harribel clenched her fists in an unspeakable rage, a great anger and hatred welling up in her being at Aizen. Her three Fracción, Apache, Sung-Sung, and Mila Rose were all dead by the Soul Reaper's hands. More specifically, the So-Taichō himself had killed them all in one blow. Her anger and rage quickly turned into despair and mourning at her Fracción's, no her family, deaths.

Harribel soon remembered her conditions, and surveyed the land around her. She slowly unzipped her jacket to see the damage to her mask and stomach, but saw nothing, and confused her greatly. '_What…..What is happening…?' _Were the only thoughts going through the stoic Espada's head.

"I assume you are confused about what is happening, am I wrong?" A voice seemingly coming from nowhere questioned the frantic woman. Harribel's eyes visibly narrowed, and she reached for Tiburón cautiously. "Do not reach for your sword, Tier."

"Who are you, and what do you want with me?" Harribel questioned cautiously, not letting her guard slip.

"I am the deity known as Kami, and I am here to settle your past soul." Harribel's grip slackened on her sword, and she quietly asked,

"Past…..soul?"

"You were once known as a human sacrifice, known as a Jinchūriki, who had the most powerful demon, the Kurama, named Naruto Uzumaki. Now do you remember?" Kami questioned the silent former Espada.

Harribel's thoughts suddenly changed into ones that seemingly were not her own.

* * *

_~ Series of Flashbacks ~ _

_A dark haired boy who's hair was shaped strangely like a duck yelling at her, "Why won't you let me have my revenge?" Getting nearly three Chidori's in the chest area by said boy._

_A pink haired girl slugging her in the face screaming, "YOU DEMON! YOU INJURED SASUKE-KUN!" _

"_But Sakura," Naruto had exclaimed, "I kept my oath to you! I brought Sasuke back from the Snake-teme!" _

"_But you nearly killed him!" And with that, Sakura slugged him in the face once more and stomped away. _

_Hate and loathing in his "friends" eyes, and the only ones who seemed to understand Naruto were the Sand Siblings, Shikamaru, and most shockingly, Neji AND Shino. Even Hinata hated the so-called demon now after she was broken in by her peers and clan members. _

_Tsunade declaring Naruto to be executed by none other than the Uchiha, just for the "loyal" Sasuke to gain the Mangekyō Sharingan, but this had failed. _

_One final saying before being executed by the Chidori, _

"_You all will rue the day you screwed with Naruto Uzumaki!" All that met this statement was darkness and then nothing at all._

_~ End of Flashbacks ~_

* * *

"Why are you telling me this?" Harribel questioned after a moment of silence.

"Everything that has happened so far has led to this moment, Tier. I shall now ask you the grand question, will you go back to the Elemental Nations for revenge, bring back peace to the elemental nations, or will you go to Hell for all of your actions in both lives?"

"Why will I be going back there?" Was the hostile retort.

"You, Harribel, are destined to go back with a special person and bring divine judgment or eternal peace to the land."

'_What should I do? And what does this "Kami" mean by special person?' _Harribel pondered to herself. "I choose to go to the Elemental Nations." She declared proudly, and searched for a sign that if this "Kami" was actually in this sea of whiteness.

"Good choice. May luck ever be with you! Oh yes, I have allowed one arrancar to be revived from the dead to accompany you! May the odds ever be with you! Good bye!"

A white light seemed to envelop Harribel, and she couldn't help but to wonder if the arrancar was Apache, Sung-Sung, or Mila Rose. The white light eventually disappeared, leaving Harribel in a lush forest, which Harribel could identify from Naruto's memories as the Land of Fire's forest near Konohagakure.

"Where the hell am I?" A loud voice groaned out from nearby, and a figure soon stepped into the woman's view. "YOU!" The man yelled, his mask glinting in the sunlight.

"I would not believe my traveling partner sent by Kami himself would be one of Barragan's Fracción…what a surprise…" Harribel mused out loud; ignoring the heated glare sent her way.

"You seem to know where we are, so where exactly are we? The last thing I remember was going into my Resurrección, and then that Taichō, Suί Fēng, stabbed me with that claw thing." Ggio asked his new traveling companion.

"We are in a place known as the Elemental Nations, home to the ninja and samurai. We are in a region known as the Land of Fire, and there is a major hidden village here known as Konohagakure. We will need to stay away from people wearing a headband with this symbol." Harribel unsheathed her Zanpakutō and drew the leaf symbol into the dirt ground.

Ggio nodded, and said, "So what happened back at that town after my…..death?"

"Suί Fēng managed to kill Barragan; Stark was killed by those two Taichō along with Lilynette. You were Barragan's final Fracción to die. My Fracción were also killed by the So-Taichō himself. Aizen declared all of the Espada worthless, attacked me, and managed to kill me. What happened next is unknown. "

"That bastard betrayed us all then! We should have never trusted those Shinigami!" Ggio snarled, his fists clenched at his sides.

"We have the chance to start over here now…Ggio?" Harribel softly questioned.

"Yes…..?"

"Will you accompany me on my quest in this foreign territory?"

"Hmmm…I've got nowhere else to go, so I'll go with you, Harribel-san."

"If my past life's memory serves correctly, we should head to the Land of Waves to stock up on bounties, news, and weapons."

"Whatever you say, Harribel-san." Ggio muttered, feeling slightly nostalgic at using the suffix as it reminded him of his former master.

Ggio fastened his Zanpakutō to his side, while Harribel checked to make sure Tiburón was also secure, and the two of them began to use Sonίdo to reach the Land of Waves quickly.

* * *

**END OF CHAPTER **

**So, whataya all think? Please review and let me know about your opinions or if I had made any mistakes. **

**I didn't want to make this chapter too long, but I will make chapters longer as the story progresses. **

**Until next time, **

**~ Zantana ~ **


	2. The Journey Begins

**Well, I'm back again! **

**Thanks everyone for the favorites and alerts, I almost teared up a little when I checked my email! I would usually reply to reviews individually, but my login is being a pain in the ass right now….and I'm just waaaaay too lazy to do that…so I'm doing it here! ^.^**

**Here's my answer about the overused plot bit:**

**Guys, I know it's overused, but it was the best scenario to fit in with the story. That's why I said it's overused; I NEVER exactly liked the scenario actually. My other choices were that Naruto died by Haku, by a mob when he was younger, or he for some reason committed suicide. After I thought about it, I needed Harribel to be somewhat bitter towards her past and Konoha, so this scenario fit the best.**

**Shiva1: Don't worry; I'm trying to make sure this doesn't end up like those stories too, so expect if Harribel encounters at the ****maximum**** of two S-rank enemies, she'll will have to go into Resurrección, and I added Ggio so there could be a balance, for something new, and a pairing no one has probably thought of yet, no matter how odd it seems ^.^**

**Thanks to all of the other reviewers, favoriters, and alerters too! I thought this story would be dud, but it actually was better received than I thought it would be! I also made a cover for this story with a few different pictures and some cutting/pasting, so does it look alright? **

**Now that a ton of people like and read this, I'm actually kind of afraid of screwing up…..**

**Guaranteed OOCness. **

**Here's the story so far: Harribel and Ggio are sent to the Elemental Nations, and are currently heading to the Land of Waves. **

**Here's the chapter!**

* * *

_How can you see into my eyes like open doors?_

_Leading you down into my core where I've become so numb_

_Without a soul my spirit's sleeping somewhere cold _

_Until you find it there and lead it back home_

_(Wake me up)_

_Wake me up inside_

_(I can't wake up)_

_Wake me up inside_

_(Save me)_

_Call my name and save me from the dark_

_(Wake me up)_

_Bid my blood to run_

_(I can't wake up)_

_Before I come undone_

_(Save me)_

_Save me from the nothing I've become_

_Now that I know what I'm without_

_You can't just leave me_

_Breathe into me and make me real_

_Bring me to life_

_(Wake me up)_

_Wake me up inside_

_(I can't wake up)_

_Wake me up inside_

_(Save me)_

_Call my name and save me from the dark_

_(Wake me up)_

_Bid my blood to run_

_(I can't wake up)_

_Before I come undone_

_(Save me)_

_Save me from the nothing I've become_

_Bring me to life_

_(I've been living a lie, there's nothing inside)_

_Bring me to life_

_Frozen inside without your touch_

_Without your love, darling _

_Only you are the life among the dead_

_All this time I can't believe I couldn't see_

_Kept in the dark but you were there in front of me_

_I've been sleeping a thousand years it seems_

_Got to open my eyes to everything_

_Without a thought, without a voice, without a soul_

_Don't let me die here_

_There must be something more_

_Bring me to life_

_(Wake me up)_

_Wake me up inside_

_(I can't wake up)_

_Wake me up inside_

_(Save me)_

_Call my name and save me from the dark_

_(Wake me up)_

_Bid my blood to run_

_(I can't wake up)_

_Before I come undone_

_(Save me)_

_Save me from the nothing I've become_

_(Bring me to life)_

_I've been living a lie, there's nothing inside _

_(Bring me to life)_

_~ Bring Me to Life by Evanescence ~_

* * *

~ Land of Waves ~

"This so…..different from what I've ever seen." Ggio stated as Harribel and he walked down the paved road of the Land of Waves, which Harribel had smiled lightly after seeing how prosperous the smaller nation has become.

Harribel nodded, and stated, "This is a very different culture than Hueco Mundo, the World of the Living, or even the Sereitei. We should try to blend in more if we want to stay hidden from the main village's notice."

"But….I don't want to change…. I feel that this uniform signifies who we once were, and who we still are today….." Ggio muttered as the duo entered a weapon shop in the now prosperous Wave. Harribel glanced at the younger hollow with pity and sympathy, but Ggio was looking in the other direction from her.

"Ggio," Harribel placed her hand on his shoulder, "we do not have to change our uniforms. I meant that we will need to stay undercover somewhat, so we need to change our ways. We are now partly human, so we will need human food and necessities to depend upon, so this is like a new beginning for us."

"True." Was all the cat-like man said as the duo separated to browse around the town.

Ggio walked down another road, and couldn't help but to smile at a group of children playing on the side of the road. This smile soon vanished after he had realized what he was doing.

_* Cue the Bleach Ost- Never Meant to Belong * _

'_Have I truly gone weak-hearted after my "death"? What's my purpose anymore? I'm in some foreign territory with the only familiar face is the former Tercera's, Tier Harribel, while everything I once knew is gone…including Master Barragan….' _Ggio kicked a small pebble in his way as he stopped in front of the same weapon shop as before. He reentered the shop silently, and immediately saw something he liked.

It was a pair of claw-like contraptions used for close combat, and Ggio knew he had to get them, so he bought them. As he exited the shop, he chuckled darkly at the irony that the claws were eerily similar to that Taichō's, Suί-Fēng's, Shikai Suzumebachi.

"I guess life has its ironic moments, eh?" He muttered to himself with another chuckle as he began to seek out Harribel.

* * *

~ With Harribel ~

Speaking of the mysterious woman, she was aimlessly walking around Wave, as she had already bought her supplies right before the duo had separated.

As she passed Tazuna's house, she browsed deeper into her past life's memories.

* * *

~_ Flashback ~ _

"_YOU KILLED SASUKE!" Naruto screamed as the Ky__ūb__i's chakra began to release from his anger and despair. _

"_This is the life of a shinobi, full of death and bloodshed." The male, Haku, monotonously uttered as he gawked at the youth's hidden 'power'. _

_Naruto lunged at the mirror, managing to break it, and the fight continued. _

_Haku had sacrificed himself so Zabuza could live, but Zabuza had died peacefully next to his beloved companion. _

_Inari brought all of Wave to the Konoha shinobi's aid, and realized he needed to move on from his stepfather's death._

_Zabuza's and Haku's graves. _

_Tazuna declaring the newly built bridge "The Great Naruto Bridge!"_

_~ End of Flashbacks ~_

* * *

Harribel stopped and stared for a moment at Tazuna's house, and a small smile graced her features, but none could see it underneath her jacket.

'_I find it still hard to believe that I was once this Naruto Uzumaki, but I shall accept this! I now consider myself as Naruto Uzumaki, but I still am Tier Harribel, the Tercera Espada!' _Harribel once again stopped walking, but this time she had stopped at the bridge. She leaned over the edge and stared into the water. '_What did Kami mean by bringing peace or destruction? Is my influence enough for either of those options?' _Harribel's hard, green eyes stared at the glinting water, and her decision was made. "I will protect the purity of this world!" The wind blew her braided locks across her face, but Harribel was too fixated on the sunset to care.

"Looks like you made your decision pretty quickly." Ggio stated with a bag slung over his shoulder, and he was now leaning against a post of the bridge.

"Yes…we should start moving to the location I have selected."

"Where is this?"

"To visit an old friend in Sunagakure…in the Land of Wind." Harribel looked towards the sky in nostalgia, remembering Gaara, and he must have been affected deeply by the events three years ago.

"Alright then…though we shouldn't probably spread around your other…identity…because we'll have this Konohagakure after your head." Ggio stretched for a moment, and Harribel took out a sealing scroll and sealed Ggio's pack inside, but kept the

"True….are you ready?"

"Hai." This simple response led to both Harribel and Ggio flickering away, leaving behind only a static sound at the use of Sonίdo.

* * *

~ Land of Wind: Sunagakure ~

"What's with all of this sand?" Ggio cried out as he rubbed his eyes continuously from the grains of sand.

"The Land of Wind is known for its vast, desert terrain. The main ninja village here is Sunagakure, and the most powerful ninja of the Land of Wind, known as the Kazekage, controls the village." Harribel was somewhat protected by the sandstorm, but she still had to wipe away the grains of sand going into her eyes, while both were still moving.

"Hey…is that Sunagakure?" Ggio pointed towards a hazy looking structure in the distance.

"It seems safe to assume that is Suna, but I have never been there before, so I never really knew what it looked like." Harribel gazed towards the figure on the horizon, and she _could _hear someone shouting loudly from this point, and no other occurrence usually happens in normal civilian villages, so this had to be a shinobi village. "Let's keep moving and see."

The duo raced towards the entrance of the village, and surprisingly, there were no guards at the moment.

"STOP!" A figure shouted after them, and the Jōnin sensei to the Sand Siblings, Baki, leapt in front of the two arrancar. "What is your business here and who are you?" He commanded sternly, glaring at the two intruders.

Ggio reached for his Zanpakutō, but Harribel motioned for him to stop. "I am Tier Harribel, and this is Ggio Vega. We came here seeking Sabaku no Gaara." Harribel's gaze was calmly fixated on Baki's; the two were sizing each other up for power and knowledge.

"Why would you have business with Kazekage-sama?" Harribel's eyes widened at her former friend's new title, as he truly had grown more powerful since Naruto's death.

"This is a private reason that could be a true S-rank secret, so may we speak to Gaara?" Harribel's tone was calm, but her undertone held warning and demands in it.

"Let us speak in the Kazekage's office…..it is not sufficient to speak in the streets." Baki motioned for the duo to follow him, and when they reached the Kazekage's office, Temari and Kankurō awaited them.

(**A/N: Temari had never gone to Konoha during this time for the ****Ch****ū****nin Exams, and Kankur****ō**** did not go after Deidara and Sasori. Instead, another unnamed ninja caught Sasori at the front gate-thing and discovered his identity.)**

"Baki-sensei, who are these people?" Temari asked while reaching for her fan, and Kankurō was doing the same with Karasu.

"They said they had business with Gaara-sama." Baki wearily told his two students, and then sat down in the chair.

"You two really don't know, do you?" Kankurō's hand withdrew from his puppet as he straightened up.

"Know what?" Ggio snapped.

"Gaara was kidnapped two nights ago by the Akatsuki organization." Temari said this while trying to hold back tears, and she shook her head sadly.

"What exactly did you want to tell Gaara anyways?" A suspicious Kankurō questioned, eyeing the strange people in front of him.

Harribel glanced at Ggio uncertainly, and he slowly nodded, symbolizing that she should just tell the truth to the remaining Sand Siblings and their sensei.

"The truth." Was all the stoic woman said as she reached for her zipper of her jacket. The ninja in the room tensed, and Ggio wondered what would happen when they caught a look at Lady Halibel's mask. The zipper fully came down, and what was underneath the jacket revealed a row of sharp teeth, and the bone-like mask led all the way down to Harribel's breasts.

Temari gasped, Baki's eyes widened comically, Kankurō gave a perverted grin at the sight before him, and Ggio indifferently stared out the window with a bored expression.

"When people die, they linger in the realm they died in: the World of the Living. If a Shinigami comes by, the dead soul is sent to heaven; known as the Sereitei. If they remain in the World of the Living, have no purpose, another Hollow eats them, or a Shinigami doesn't reach the soul in time, they become a being known as a hollow. Hollows are a species that devour other hollows souls and human souls. 3 years ago, a human named Naruto Uzumaki turned into a hollow known as Tier Harribel." Harribel explained, her eyes now closed in despair.

"Prove it…PROVE THAT YOU ARE NARUTO UZUMAKI!" Kankurō shouted with his fists clenched. Ggio raised an eyebrow at the outburst, and gave out a loud yawn.

"Naruto Uzumaki was the Jinchūriki to the Kyūbi, Kurama, and lived in Konohagakure. He was the one who brought Sabaku no Gaara back to his sanity, and inspired him to become the Kazekage. He went on a mission to retrieve Sasuke Uchiha, brought him back uninjured, while he had received two Chidoris to the chest. He was scheduled for execution, and the only people who cared for him were Shino Aburame, Neji Hyūga, Sabaku no Kankurō, Sabaku no Temari, Sabaku no Temari, and Shikamaru Nara."

"It's true…..you ARE Naruto…" Temari whispered, and her eyes widened at this realization. "You know, others realized you weren't a monster in the village. Konoha is torn into two factions: the Naruto supporters and the ones who are against you. The majors against you are the Hyūga clans, Sarutobi, Senju, Inuzuka, Haruno, Uchiha, Akimichi, Kurama clan, Root, and most civilians. Your supporters include the Nara, Aburame, Ichiraku, the Yamanaka, Konohamaru Corps, Genma, Neji Hyūga, Tenten, Anko, and Yugao."

"It's pretty much a civil war over there, and the rebels are led by Jiraiya against Danzō and Tsunade….Suna pretty much cut off all ties except being allies due to this, and that's only because of fear they could attack us and easily overpower us." Kankurō gravely said.

"I see. Something needs to be done over in Konoha." Harribel quietly amended.

"It already did." Baki cut in, "Your supporters left the village a year ago, and now inhabit Amegakure. Now we need to go onto more pressing matters, such as Gaara."

"Yes! The Akatsuki headed out towards the Land of Rivers according to Maki's team, so they most likely have a base there." Kankurō stated while pointing to a map on the desk.

"Hey, Harribel-sama…why don't we go and save this Gaara then?" Ggio threw in his opinion as he studied the map.

"That may not be the best idea to rush in and recklessly attack enemies we know barely anything about." Harribel sighed as she realized what she may have to do. "Fine…we shall go rescue Gaara then."

Ggio picked up his Zanpakutō, and Harribel turned, but just as they were about to leave, Baki shouted out, "Wait!"

The duo turned around and looked at the now pale Jōnin, and he exclaimed, "I had asked Konoha for backup….." Kankurō sighed and smacked his forehead.

"Hurry before they get here!" Temari exclaimed to the duo, and Harribel nodded as Ggio and she used Sonίdo towards the Land of Rivers.

* * *

~ Border of Land of Wind and the Land of Rivers ~

Our heroine and hero were currently tracking the path the two Akatsuki had made with the use of spiritual signs from Gaara. The duo eventually stopped in front of a boulder with a seal on it, and both could tell that Gaara was currently behind that boulder.

"Ggio…..be ready, got it?"

"I'm ready, but I know you don't like to fight, so I should be the one checking to see if you're all right!" Ggio laughed out as he scratched the back of his head.

"I'm alright…now how do we break this boulder?"

"Easy." Ggio stated as he brought his palm horizontally, and began charging his rose colored cero up.

"No, Ggio, don't!" Harribel barked out, but it was too late. The boulder was shattered to bits, revealing a statue, a motionless Gaara, and several figures.

"Here are our expected visitors!" A tall figure with beady eyes laughed out.

"Deidara, Sasori…..deal with them." A deep voice, which was obviously the leader, commanded the now identified Deidara and Sasori.

"You got it, un!" The blonde man crowed out, and Harribel shuddered as the way he said it reminded her of that Visored…..Shinji Hirako*.

"Of course, Leader-sama." A large, bulking figure respectfully replied. Both Harribel and Ggio shuddered at how he sounded like that fox captain Komamura*.

The sealing statue disappeared, and the two figures leaped off their respective fingers. Harribel reached for her sword, as did Ggio.

"Hey, my man Sasori, what do you think they are after, hmmm?" Deidara mockingly asked his partner.

"It is quite obvious they came for the Jinchūriki, brat." Sasori replied back gruffly.

"Such a shame that he's already dead, un." Deidara slapped Gaara's face for emphasis.

"Then we'll get his corpse back!" Ggio yelled as he charged at Deidara, who had created a clay bird and jumped on top of it. The bird then commenced on flying outside, and Ggio followed him.

* * *

~ Ggio vs. Deidara ~

"Now you will face my art, un!" Deidara cried out with a shit-eating grin on his face.

"Art? What the hell is your definition of art?" Ggio shouted back with a genuinely confused look.

"My art is…an EXPLOSION!" Just at that moment, a clay bird launched itself at Ggio, but he noticed it too late, and it exploded in his face.

'_Damn it!' _Ggio thought as he leapt away from the impact, and he could feel the left side of his face was severely burned. "Now it's my turn!" Ggio used Sonίdo to get right up in Deidara's range, and kicked him as hard as he could in the stomach. This resulted in Deidara coughing up some blood, but he was not too injured.

"You'll pay for that, un!" Several clay spiders were sent in Ggio's way, but he narrowly dodged them and the explosion.

'_He's a long-range fighter, so close combat would be the best option.' _Ggio unsheathed Tigre Estoque, and charged Deidara. Deidara merely flew higher into the air, but imagine the shocked look on his face when he discovered Ggio could stand on air.

"You won't get your friend back, yeah!" A determined Deidara screeched as he sent several more clay birds Ggio's way. He was able to dodge all but one, and he screamed as the third caught his leg in a small explosion.

"Damn you! You're gonna pay for that!" Ggio roared, he pulled out Tigre Estoque straight in front of him, and yelled, "Bite off, Tigre Estoque!" Ggio's features became more feral-like, he had some fur at his elbows and kneecaps, his braided ponytail also became longer, and his jacket extended downwards. "Prepare to die!"

Deidara sent four more clay birds in his direction, but Ggio used Sonίdo to avoid the incoming projectiles, and made a slash at Deidara's arm. It missed, but it left a shallow slash across Deidara's stomach.

While Ggio was somewhat distracted, Deidara had sent a small centipede that wrapped around Ggio's legs. "Katsu!" Deidara yelled out with that same sadistic grin.

All Ggio could feel was a searing pain as he plummeted to the ground, and he could feel his consciousness fading. He could also see Deidara getting onto one knee as he tried to stop the bleeding in the slash on his stomach. As one desperate, final act, Ggio began charging his rose cero in his palm and sent it at the Iwa-nukenin. The cero barely missed, but it was enough for Deidara and the bird to plummet to the ground with enough force to render his unconsciousness for a short period of time.

Ggio gave one last grin as he fell into the dark abyss known as his mind.

* * *

~ Sasori vs. Harribel ~

_************Theme is B13A from Bleach *********_

The inside of the cave was still tense, both Sasori and Harribel were staring at each other, and both were prepared to kill each other.

Sasori made the first move by launching senbon out of his puppet shell's mouth. Harribel dodged this by the extensive use of Sonίdo, and swung her hollow broadsword at the undefended Hiruko's back. Much to her shock, a scorpion tail blocked the sword, but it broke from the power Harribel put into the strike. The tail then swiped at Harribel, but she narrowly dodged by leaping backwards.

Harribel's eyes widened as she noticed the tail glistened slightly, and had poison dripping from the tip of the tail.

'_So he poisoned the tail…he must have done the same to all of his weapons then….There is enough force to break my Hierro, judging from the screams of pain coming from Ggio…It's time to get serious.' _

Sasori watched silently as Harribel reached for the now sheathed sword, and wrapped a finger around the key-hole like contraption on the side. She slowly unsheathed the sword, and it spun around until she gripped the purple guard. Inside of his puppet, Sasori smirked, the true challenge had begun.

Harribel charged, and used Sonίdo several times to move towards Sasori faster. Sasori raised Hiruko's arm, and several senbon and kunai were sent out rapidly. Harribel dodged these by a series of twists, and used Sonίdo once more to get behind Sasori.

"Ola Azul." Harribel charged Tiburón up with her spiritual energy, and swung the sword several times at the puppet. Sasori managed to dodge the first two, but the third hit his puppet dead on and he was left stunned for a crucial second.

Harribel appeared above the puppet, and swung her sword as hard as she could at Hiruko. The puppet shattered on impact, and the real Sasori jumped away from the puppet.

"So you managed to destroy Hiruko…impressive, but can you beat my true form?" Sasori asked, pulling out the scroll containing the Third Kazekage. The Sandaime Kazekage appeared in all of its puppet glory, and Sasori made it charge towards Harribel. As it raced towards her, the puppet revealed to have several sharp and poisoned blades on its right hand.

Harribel brought her sword crashing upon the blades, and a buzz saw was revealed to be on its left hand. Harribel was forced to swap her sword from both hands continuously to avoid be injured by either weapon.

"Is this all to your power?" Harribel mockingly said as she avoided a jab from the swords. Sasori said nothing back in reply and instead continued to control the Sandaime puppet. Sasori soon withdrew the puppet from the continuous onslaught, and a compartment in the puppet opened.  
"This is the Sandaime Kazekage's special ability, the Iron Sand. Let's see how quick it will take to finish you. Iron Sand Drizzle!" A bullet of sand quickly shot towards Harribel, and she tried to use Sonίdo to avoid the attack, but a margin of it managed to scrape her. "You're now poisoned, and within three days you WILL die!" Sasori let out a small chuckle at his supposed victory.

Harribel's movements became sluggish, and she got hit with another sand bullet.

'_Damn it…..' _Was all she could think as she reached for Tiburón. "Don't….underestimate….me!" She cried out as she released her spiritual pressure. The familiar yellow glow surrounded her, and she could see Sasori panting for breath at the sheer amount of pressure she had. The rocks of the cave began to rumble at the pressure, and Sasori managed to use one attack to try to stop the former Tres Espada's spiritual release. By this point, the ceiling had collapsed, leaving a big gap on the valley side.

"Iron Sand World Method!" The sand regrouped into one big mass, and shot straight at Harribel, who quickly stopped the spiritual flow and used Sonίdo to escape the spikes and a painful death. Harribel then shocked Sasori by running on air, as if there were ground beneath her feet.

"I'm not done." Harribel jumped into the air, held Tiburón straight in front of her with the blade facing downwards, and declared, "Destroy, Tiburón."

Sasori could only watch with an amazed expression as a torrent of water surrounded Harribel, twirled around her, and a sword cut through the water. Harribel's Resurrección made the walls collapse even further, and Harribel now wore knee high white boots with matching gloves, hollow bones enveloping her breasts, two ribbons protrusions coming from her back, resembling shark fins, a mini skirt made of bones with a dark undergarment, and Tiburón now resembled a stretched shark tooth.

"What the hell….." Sasori muttered as he stared at the now transformed Harribel.

"La Gota." Tiburón's tip was now covered in water, and the water bullet shot out at Sasori, and the impact caused him to crash into the wall.

'_I've got to get Deidara and flee!' _A panicking Sasori thought, looking for an opening to escape.

Harribel noticed this and gravely said, "You are going to die here, Akasuna no Sasori. Your fate has been sealed when you decided to go up against me."

Sasori didn't answer, but instead opted to figure out a way to escape. He then replaced himself with a sand clone. He then fled to his partner, who happened to still be unconscious, picked him up, and fled the scene.

"WHY THE HELL DID YOU LET HIM GO?" Ggio screamed into the pit at Harribel.

"Simple. Our priority was to retrieve the Kazekage, not fight the Akatsuki. We could have ridded the world of at least one of them, but one of us would probably end up dead."

"But….But…But….." Ggio protested.

"What did you bastards do to the Kazekage?" A whiny, banshee like scream came from their left. Sakura Haruno in all of her glory stood there staring at Gaara's motionless body.

"Geez," Ggio muttered while wincing. "can't get any louder than that."

"We saved the Kazekage from the Akatsuki? Is that a problem, leaf ninja?" Harribel calm tone held warning in it, and the lone sand elder stared at the woman, recognizing her from within the village.

"SASUKE-KUN WAS SUPPOSED TO SAVE THAT WEAKLING!" Sakura screamed, and the other guy, not Sasuke, sighed at the pink haired girl's antics.

"Hey ugly, be quiet." Sai said this with a fake smile, which caused Sakura to punch him. Sasuke just stood there brooding, and a dark, depressing aura covered him.

"Hey there." Kakashi warned, "What happened to the Akatsuki."

Ggio rubbed the side of his face and angrily glared at Harribel. "They escaped like cowards…those bastards…"

"Was one of them Sasori?" Chiyo questioned.

"Yes. I went up against him." Harribel said, already annoyed by the Leaf ninja, and she suppressed to urge to kill her old teammates off.

"Let's regroup with Team 89, and figure out what to do from there." Kakashi said, and the ninja flew off into the forest with the two arrancar following behind.

* * *

~ Clearing ~

Team 89 was already waiting for Team 7 by the time they had gone there. Team 89 apparently was Kiba Inuzuka, Rock Lee, Hinata Hyūga, Kurenai, and Gai. In other words, what was left of Team Gai (AKA Team 9) was merged with Team 8.

*******_Theme is Here to Stay, a Bleach OST_*********

"So this was the fate of the youthful Kazekage…" Lee whispered, feeling mournful towards his former companion.

"No Lee, this is good! Konoha can take control over Suna, and Sasuke-kun can be more powerful with this new arrangement!" Sakura squealed, delighted over Suna's misfortune.

"Hey, Harribel-sama…didn't you used to…" Ggio started to say, but was muffled out when Harribel put her hand over his mouth and gave him a warning glare.

"Not now….not now…" Was all she said back, and gave him one final glare.

"Move away!" Chiyo shouted as she moved towards Gaara's motionless body, and got on her knees next to him. She began to put all of her chakra into her hands, and began pumping it into the deceased Kazekage.

Everyone watched in anticipation, and Sunagakure ninja soon arrived to see their Kazekage's rebirth. Chiyo slumped to the ground as Gaara awoke into the World of the Living once more.

"LORD GAARA!" Was the cry all the Sunagakure shinobi screamed as they saw their Kazekage rise once more. Two of his fan girls were screaming and Glomping him, and people were even crying. Sakura seemed to have a dark aura around her, in fact, the same as Sasuke's.

"Let's go." Harribel muttered to Ggio, who nodded him agreement, but just as she turned away, a hand placed on her shoulder stopped her.

"My, my…..Gaara would want to see you after so long." Kankurō's grin was wide, and Harribel sighed in disappointment.

"Why are Leaf ninja here?" Gaara demanded to Temari.

"I'm sorry, but we had to request their aid to save you." She whispered back to her younger brother.

"Were they the ones who saved me?"

"No….you will meet your saviors after the Leaf ninja have left."

Kakashi approached Gaara, and said, "I'm sorry Kazekage-sama, but we have to return to the village right about now."

"What a shame. I wish you a safe journey then." But Gaara really didn't mean this at all.

* * *

~ Later: Kazekage's office ~

"So you are the ones who saved me?" Gaara asked, eyeing down these new, strange people.

"Hai, Kazekage-sama." Harribel said, and bowed for respect.

"Whatever." Ggio grumbled, still upset over the enemies' retreat.

"This is Tier Harribel, and that is Ggio Vega." Temari motioned towards each person respectively, and her smirk made a look of doubt and confusion come onto Gaara's features.

"We originally came to the village to talk to you, but you were kidnapped, so we saved you." Harribel summarized, but left out what she wanted to talk about.

"Talk to me about what?"  
"In my past life, I was known as Naruto Uzumaki. I became Tier Harribel due to my soul not being able to move on, and I became a being known as a hollow. I had three companions in the lonely Hueco Mundo, the land of hollow, and the three's names were Mila Rose, Sung-Sun, and Apache. One day, I was saved by a Shinigami named Aizen, and made my companions and me into arrancar. I became one of the elites, and my rank was the 3rd Espada." With this statement, Harribel unzipped her jacket and pointed towards the gothic "three" tattoo on her breast. "Aizen wanted to rule all three worlds, and brought his top Three Espada and their Fracción to a town. The Shinigami captains were defending the town, and I was forced to go up against the Taichō Tōshirō Hitsugaya. My three comrades died by the So-Taichō, and I was killed by Aizen, so I was brought here."

"Naruto…." Gaara merely stared at the woman in front of him, and stood up and hugged her.

"What about him?" Kankurō asked, pointing at Ggio.

"Me? I was the second Espada's, my majesty Barragan's, Fracción. I went against Taichō Suί-Fēng and her lieutenant, and ended up being killed." Ggio summarized, not wanting to give his life story to random strangers.

"Where will you go after this?" Temari asked.

"I was planning on heading towards Kirigakure." Harribel said with certainty.

"Kiri? Isn't there a civil war there?" Kankurō asked.

"It ended, but no one outside of the Land of Water knows who won yet." Gaara cut in with the intel he received just recently.

"No matters. We shall still go." Harribel said, and turned toward the door. "Maybe we shall meet again, old friend." Gaara said nothing as he watched Harribel and Ggio exit the room, but he secretly wished that they would stay another night at least.

* * *

~ With Ggio and Harribel ~

"Aw come on! We could have stayed and rested at that village!" Ggio complained.

"No….we need to keep moving. It could be dangerous to stay at Suna." Was all Harribel said as she looked at the sunset.

'_I have a bad feeling about where we are going…' _Ggio thought with an eye twitching.

* * *

**END OF CHAPTER!  
So how was this chapter? Good? Bad? Alright? Please let me know with reviews, and maybe a few tips could help improve in more chapters to come! WERE THE FIGHTS ACTUALLY GOOD? Sorry Sakura fans...but I really don't like her. I kept Sasori alive due to purposes later on in the story, so he will be needed for future events. **

***= Shinji and Deidara have the same voice actors, so do Hiruko and Komamura (and Pakkun). I would have done the same with Sasori and Ichigo, but I was too lazy. Too bad if Harribel ever meets Anko, Yukimaru, or Ayame she won't notice ^.^ Same with Ggio and Minato & Ulquiorra. LOL! MINATO HAS THE SAME VOICE ACTOR AS ULQUIORRA! A EMOTIONLESS MINATO! Reminds me when I first watched Bleach...I had a spasm because Ichigo was like Sasori with no emotion! Gotta love Johnny! Anyone else listen to Eyeshine? Ya know, the band Johnny's in? **

**Well, I hoped this was satisfactory for everyone! **

'**till next time, **

**~ Zantana ~ **


	3. Kirigakure's Gathering Hope

**Hi guys! I'm back!**

**Thanks for the reviews, favorites, and alerts guys! This really encourages me to update faster! But I didn't update sooner because I sent my computer away for repairs -_-…**

**Darkmachines: I might do it, but from what I've planned out so far, it might not happen. But I might try it -.^! But it won't be with Apache, Sung-Sung, or Mila Rose though...**

**Thanks to all of the other reviewers, favoriters, alerters, and those who read this story too! ^.^****◌ᵆǶǤǢǾŒœﬄ︠︠︠ΞŪ I'm having WAAAAAY too much fun with the insert symbol thingy! **

**MY LOGIN'S BEING A PAIN IN THE ASS, SO I HAD TO TYPE THIS ON A DIFFERENT COMPUTER! A SLOW, OLD ONE -_- FUCKING SECURITY CODE THING WONT SHOW UP, SO I CAN'T GET IN! **

_**PLEASE READ THIS AUTHOR NOTE!**_

_**Here is one thing I just HAVE to say before everyone reads this chapter. The main theme of the chapter is an OST from Naruto Shipp**__**ū**__**den and it is called Maisou/Burial. I suggest listening to it during this chapter because it gives off a real emotional feel…... I'm trying to make this chapter as somber as possible, and to have a dark, yet mournful feel to it, so I'm hoping this turns out good. **_

_**I also have one question to ask…..I'm planning on taking this story on a darker path that shows the uglier side of being brought back to life and the uglier side of the shinobi world…should I do this? I tried with this chapter was to show that not every village has luxuries and that not everyone is fortunate enough for the luxuries of life. Kind of like reality, right?**_

_**This arc will be split into 2-3 chapters, and this features the Kirigakure rebellion. Any village besides Kirigakure in the Land of Water is made up, so don't look any of this up!**_

_**PS: PLEASE VOTE ON MY PROFILE POLL IF YOU WANT TO SEE MORE STORIES FROM ME! I PUT SEVERAL STORY IDEAS I WOULD LIKE TO WRITE ABOUT IN MANY DIFFERENT SECTIONS, AND I'M LETTING YOU, THE PEOPLE, DECIDE WHICH IDEA I SHOULD START ON AS A SIDE-BY-SIDE STORY WITH RETRIBUTION, SO PLEASE VOTE!**_

**I forgot a disclaimer before! I don't own Bleach, Naruto, or any random references that may show throughout the story! Or any songs I will use!**

**Here's the chapter!**

* * *

_**Fall! **_

_**Now the dark begins to rise**_

_**Save your breath it's far from over**_

_**Leave the lost and dead behind**_

_**Now's your chance to run for cover**_

_**I don't want to change the world**_

_**I just want to leave it colder**_

_**Light the fuse and burn it up**_

_**Take the path that leads to nowhere**_

_**All is lost again, but I'm not giving in**_

_**I will not bow, I will not break**_

_**I will shut the world away**_

_**I will not fall, I will not fade**_

_**I will take your breath away**_

_**Fall! **_

_**Watch the end through dying eyes**_

_**Now the dark is taking over**_

_**Show me where forever dies**_

_**Take the fall and run to heaven**_

_**All is lost again, but I'm not giving in**_

_**I will not bow, I will not break**_

_**I will shut the world away**_

_**I will not fall, I will not fade**_

_**I will take your breath away**_

_**And I'll survive, paranoid **_

_**I have lost the will to change**_

_**And I am not proud, cold blooded, fake**_

_**I will shut the world away**_

_**I will not! **_

_**I will not bow, I will not break**_

_**I will shut the world away**_

_**I will not fall, I will not fade**_

_**I will take your breath away**_

_**And I'll survive, paranoid**_

_**I have lost the will to change **_

_**And I am not proud, cold blooded, fake**_

_**I will shut the world away**_

_**Fall!**_

_**~ I Will Not Bow by Breaking Benjamin ~**_

* * *

~ Border of the Land of Water ~

A terrible storm ravaged the shorelines of the Land of Water, and Harribel and Ggio were currently stowing away on a boat heading to Kirigakure. The rain pelted down on Harribel's face as she solemnly stared into the dark, stormy sky.

"Harribel-san? What are you doing out here?" Ggio stepped out onto the deck with a questioning gaze at the former Tercera's back.

"I was just thinking…." Harribel trailed off as she stared at the churning waters.

"About what?" Ggio pursued curiously, his eyes full of wonder.

"Never mind." Harribel's gaze slid over to Ggio, and her dark green eyes seemed to hold a foreign emotion from the Tercera Espada.

'_What's up with her?' _Ggio thought as he stared at the mysterious woman's back, and right there he decided he was going to solve the mysterious enigma known as Tier Harribel.

* * *

~ Land of Water- Kyūson ~

The boat had finally docked at the outskirt village of Kyūson, and our protagonists stepped off of the small ferry to see the tragic sight of Kyūson. Ggio's eyes widened and he said, "Is this what happens during the aftermath of war in this world?"

Harribel said nothing as she stared at the poor villagers, as she knew how cruel the shinobi world affected the innocent.

The village of Kyūson was located nearby to the border of the Land of Water, and was one of the most prosperous villages in the Land of Water, so it was easy to find necessities to live by. But when the Bloodline Purges occurred, the standard of living had decreased dramatically for the residents.

Anyways, the sight they had seen was starving children and elderly people, and the people had numerous lacerations across their arms and legs. The entire village was made out of natural resources, and the land had looked burnt, which showed that some type of battle was just fought in this village. But the children still looked happy in their condition, but the older folks looked grim and hopeless. "What the hell…isn't the leader of this land supposed to prevent all of this from happening?" Ggio asked Harribel.

"Not all Kage care enough for the lesser people. Kirigakure is no different, in fact it is known as the Bloody Mist for a good reason. The Mizukage, Yagura, is a Jinchūriki known for his barbaric methods. He ordered kekkai genkai users to be eradicated just because of uncertainty of the users' powers, and this is still in place to this very day."

"Kekkai genkai users? What are they?" Ggio asked with a slightly confused look on his face.

"People born into a specific clan that have special abilities that are only found in that clan. For example, the Hyūga clan of Konohagakure possesses a dōjutsu called the Byakugan that allows them to see 360 degrees and through objects. Is this a good enough explanation?"

"Yeah…but didn't Gaara tell us this was over?"

"He did…..was he given wrong information…..? Or was it just a misunderstanding?" Harribel mused out loud, and the duo walked up to an older woman who was sewing a shirt. "Ma'am, May I ask I question or two?" Harribel politely bowed to the woman.

She set down the fabrics, and gave a weary, but kind smile to the duo. "What would you all like to know?"

"What exactly is going on in Kirigakure and the entire Land of Water?"

"Well…politics haven't gone real well in this land lately…..that tyrant Yagura still has not been overthrown. There is a rebel faction led by a woman named Mei Terumῑ who has two kekkai genkai herself. The Land of Water is suffering greatly, as this village used to be a prosperous trading port, but the Mist ninja barricaded the village and burnt everything to the ground, calling us 'bloodline lovers' just because we had harbored the remains of the Yuki clan. This is all we have left, and we try to keep strong." The woman gave another small, yet mournful smile as she gazed at what was left of her former home.

"What's up with this Yagura anyways? A man would have to be pretty twisted and insane to go this far just to eradicate kekkai genkai users." Ggio muttered, crossing his arms while deep in thought.

"There is a rumor going around, but no one is sure if it true." The woman whispered wearily, eyeing their surroundings to see if anyone was listening in on their conversation.

"What exactly is this rumor?" Harribel cut in with a raised eyebrow.

"Well…..the rumor is that Yagura is secretly being controlled by an unidentified third party, since he was such a gentle, kind young man, but he had changed overnight." The woman shuddered in remembrance of the Mizukage's sudden change.

'_Something seems wrong with this picture, but what- or who- exactly would want to completely purge the kekkai genkai…..? This will be tough to figure out…' _Harribel speculated, and until Ggio elbowed her she realized the woman was just staring at them. "Arigato for answering our questions, but may I ask one more?"

"Of course, what else do you need to know?" The woman gave another kind, but weary smile.

"Where exactly are the rebels' camps? I would like to know more from this Mei Terumῑ herself." Harribel asked, still polite, but with a demanding undertone the woman could not detect unless she was a trained shinobi.

"The rebel camp is nearby to the capital, Kirigakure. You should rest a day before you depart, as it is a long and hazardous journey to the camp. You may also stay at my home if you would like." The woman kindly offered.

Harribel held a small smile underneath her jacket and mask, and replied with genuine gratitude, "I would not like for our company to be such a burden, but with your kindness, we," Harribel swiftly jabbed Ggio in the stomach, who began nodding furiously. "Accept."

* * *

~ Later that night ~

Ggio sat on a log in front of a bonfire where the residents of the village just sat and enjoyed themselves. He sighed, and thought, _'I want to get a move on….where the hell is Harribel?' _He looked around, and saw Harribel with a young girl by the small, wooden dock. Harribel seemingly was playing with the young girl, and he could see she was content with this just by looking into her eyes, which were gleaming in happiness. He studied her face a bit longer, and a foreign emotion swirled in his gut as he stared at the face he now deemed to be beautiful. A light blush formed on his cheeks, and he looked away in denial.

"I can't be falling for Lady Halibel…..at least not now….." He muttered to himself, as he stared at the cold, hard ground in denial.

* * *

~ With Harribel, same time ~

****************Theme is "Burial" from Naruto Shippūden************

"Lady, what does your face look like?" a young girl named Kyoko asked Harribel.

"Well…" Harribel trailed off, not wanting to scar the young child by seeing her hollow mask.

"It's all right, you don't have to show me, but can you play with me?" Harribel stared at the girl in somewhat disbelief. Harribel let out a small grin underneath her mask, and gently replied, "Of course I can. What would you like to play?"

"I want to be a shinobi, so let's play ninja!" Kyoko gathered several senbon, kunai, and shuriken to throw at targets placed on the dock poles. Kyoko's laughter could be heard without the small village, and Harribel felt content by pleasing the young girl. After Kyoko had worn herself out, the duo sat on the edge of the dock together.

"Harribel-san?" Kyoko whispered, seeming reluctant to grab the older woman's attention.

"Yes Kyoko?"

"Do you believe this country will finally have peace one day?" Harribel's eyes widened at the fact a girl as young as Kyoko was exposed to the true ugly side of the life of a shinobi, and the affect it had on the civilians and shinobi alike.

"Of course it will. I promise, no I swear, the Land of Water will have peace." Kyoko's face lit up with a small grin, and she stood up while staring at the sunset.

"My dream is to grow up and be a powerful shinobi who protects the innocent, and protects the peace." Kyoko whispered as she stared at the darkening sky with a determined gaze.

"You can do anything you set your mind and heart too, Kyoko." Harribel encouraged, and then glanced at the bonfire. Her eyes narrowed as she saw Ggio watching them from a distance, until he caught her gaze and turned away, and Harribel lightly smirked as she saw his face going crimson. She tore her gaze away from Ggio, and looked into the vibrant sunset.

'_Our journey begins tomorrow….but why do I get this ominous feeling?' _Harribel thought with a frown as she made her way to the bonfire.

* * *

◌◌◌◌◌◌◌◌◌◌◌ Next Day: 300 KM away from Kirigakure◌◌◌◌◌◌◌◌◌◌

"Where the hell could this camp be?" Ggio groaned as the duo paced around the area where the rebel camp could be.

"Have some patience, we will eventually find it." Harribel wouldn't admit it, but she was irritated also.

"STOP! NONE SHALL PASS!" A deep voice yelled somewhere from the mist in front of them. Harribel and Ggio both reached for their swords cautiously, and the unknown figures stepped out of the mist.

"W-W-What's your business here?" The more timid male stammered out, cautiously reaching for the dual bladed sword on his back. The other man, who was taller and had an eye patch over his right eye, seemed to be studying the strangely dressed duo in front of him.

"Listen you fuckers-"Ggio started to rant, but Harribel cut him off with a sharp, "Ggio!" The two men looked slightly offended at what Ggio started to say, but Harribel apologized with a quick bow. "We came here seeking the woman known as Mei Terumī, you two seem to be a part of the rebels, so you could probably lead us to her."

"Why would you need to speak to Terumī-sama?" The taller man questioned, and his gaze was hard and calculating.

"That is none of your business!" Ggio snapped, his patience finally snapping.

"It is too. We cannot allow random foreigners into our camp!" The man snapped back, and his companion shrunk back in fear. "Leave at once!"

"A-A-Ao…..maybe we should just hear them out…." The other man whispered meekly, and the now identified Ao turned to him with an angry gaze.

"Well! Fine then Chōjūrō….Why the hell are you two skulking around this perimeter?"

"I told you, we need to meet with Mei Terumī." Harribel replied back evenly.

"But why would you need to meet with our leader?" Chōjūrō asked with newly gained confidence.

"We want to know what exactly is going on here, ya got that?" Ggio snapped, and within his mind his Zanpakutō was laughing at his wielder's anger.

"We'll take you to her, but don't you dare try anything funny." Ao warned, and the duo didn't know that Ao had activated his Byakugan underneath his eye patch.

As the quartet neared the camp, they could see the smoke clouds rising from nearby.

"Damn it!" Ao cursed as he looked around wildly. "Chōjūrō, we will need to assist the others on the battlefield, got it?"

"But what about these two?" He asked while looking at Ggio and Harribel with a weary glance.

"Damn…Ameyuri!" He called to a female rushing towards them at the moment.

"What the hell do you need, Ao? Can't you see that we are kind of in the middle of a crisis?" Ameyuri asked. Ameyuri was a tall woman with light brown hair that was tied up on both sides with the majority of the strands flowing down her back. She wore a loose shirt that was tied with a black obi, and she wore black hakama pants with leg warmers. Her most notable feature was the dual blades strapped to her back that were extremely sharp.

"I need you to watch over these two…..." Ao trailed off as he saw the facial expression Ameyuri was giving him.

"I'll do it, but you owe me….and this includes you too, Chōjūrō-kun." Ameyuri sighed as she stood near the former arrancar dejectedly.

"Arigato Ame-chan….." Chōjūrō blushed as he and Ao jumped into the fray.

Harribel looked over at the two sides, and she noticed a VERY familiar sight just out of the corner of her eye. She turned, and nearly gasped as she saw a familiar figure she had thought to be dead from her former life.

A lot of ice mirrors were spread around the battlefield, and a certain bun haired shinobi was throwing senbon in rapid succession while swapping mirrors at the exact same time.

"Haku…" She uttered as she gawked at the male.

Ameyuri and Ggio noticed this, and Ameyuri spoke up as she said, "Oh…..that new kunoichi? I believe her name was Haku. She came just after Zabuza Momochi, an ally of ours, was killed by Konoha ninja. She claimed to have no purpose when our forces found her, and she joined us with a goal in mind." Ameyuri had a small smile on her face as she remembered Haku's goal.

* * *

~ _Flashback: 3 Years Ago- Rebel Camp, near Kyūson~ _

_It was just another monotone day for the swordsman Ameyuri. Being a commander of the rebel army had its perks, but she was bored out of her mind. _

_*************Theme is Heart of Courage by Two Steps from Hell****_

"_Move it! She could be dying!" A medic-nin screamed as he raced past the shocked Ameyuri, and she barely glimpsed a small, petite body on the stretcher. She raced after the medic ninja, and saw the girl's miraculous recovery. _

"_Tell me girl, what is your name?" Ameyuri gently questioned the silent girl. _

"_Haku…Momochi…" She whispered after a moment of silence._

"_Mom….Momochi….? As in, Zabuza Momochi?" Ameyuri asked with widened eyes. _

"_He was….a father figure, my sensei, my everything! I would have given everything up for him, but he was killed in action!" Haku sobbed as she put her face into her hands. _

"_How was he slain?" _

"_Kakashi Hatake stabbed him through the torso with a Chidori…his last words were to me, and that I should move on, stay safe, and to live a happy life. I can't move on without him though!" Haku sobbed as Ameyuri held her in a comforting embrace. _

"_What do you believe is your purpose now?" _

"_I have a dream….that I could help bring justice to my homeland. Bring the peace and prosperity back to the mist, and to become one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist with Zabuza-sama's blade." _

"_I can help; after all, I am one of the few Swordsmen of the Mist left. I wield the dual blades known as the Kiba. These blades can slice through anything and are very dangerous when lightning type chakra courses through them." _

"_You would help me?"_

"_Of course I would."_

_~ End of Flashback ~_

* * *

"I thought that woman was a man though…?" Harribel trailed off as she stared at Haku.

"Haku does not want to be fought as if she were delicate, so she masquerades as a man at times. I managed to get her out of that habit though." Ameyuri said, and then the trio lapsed into a silence, and just watched the battle unfold.

Soon enough, an auburn haired woman wearing a blue dress that slit on one side, with fishnet and leg protectors underneath. She did several hand signs, and brought her hands up to her mouth. She then shot out several lava globs at the center of the battlefield, and enemy ninja seemed to cower at the sight of the woman.

"You see her? That's Mei Terumī, one of the head leaders of this rebellion."

"One of?" Ggio asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Each commander is counted as a leader. The head leaders consist of myself, Mei-sama, Ao-san, Chōjūrō-kun, Haku-chan, and Utakata-san. The leaders come up with a battle strategy and lead their own factions. I lead the short range users along with Chōjūrō. Haku leads the mid-range users. Utakata leads the long-range users. Ao leads a medic and sensory faction, while Mei-sama leads a combination of all ranges."

'_Interesting tactics…..each faction is led by a seemingly powerful shinobi…..this would allow each faction to cover their best areas for attack, but this tactic has one major flaw. For example, if the enemy consists of long range users, and the unit they are against is short range, they could be easily overpowered. This also allows the unit to gain a disadvantage of getting in close range so the enemy could not attack….Somewhat brilliant tactics.' _Harribel's tactical mind was whirling with the possibilities of the disadvantages and advantages of the tactics used by the rebels.

Anyways, back to the fight. Most of the enemy Kirigakure ninja were wiped out by this point, so few remained alive. Several senbon protruded from the living one's necks so they could be taken as prisoners. When Mei had caught sight of Ameyuri in the shadows, she walked quickly towards her.

"Ameyuri, what are you doing here in the shadows?" She questioned with a hard gaze.

Ameyuri bowed in apology and started to explain. "Ao and Chōjūrō told me to watch over these two foreigners that came seeking you."

"You two, come with me." Mei motioned to Harribel and Ggio. "Ameyuri, gather Haku, Utakata, Ao, and Chōjūrō and meet at the hideout."

"Hai." Ameyuri leaped off to find the specified people Mei wanted to see.

Mei began to walk towards a large tent in the middle of the camp, and the trio entered it. Inside was a large table with 10 chairs and a very detailed map of Kirigakure and the Land of Water with red, white, or blue pins stuck in certain locations.

"Sit down, and why don't we start on why you two wanted to see me." Mei sat on one side of the table, and Ggio and Harribel sat on the other end.

"We came here to know the truth behind what is happening." Harribel stated with an even gaze at Mei.

"The truth? Can't you see what is going on in this country?" Mei said back with an even tone, and her gaze was as equally hard.

"No you bitch," Mei's gaze hardened even further when Ggio said this, "We were told by the Kazekage that the civil war was over in Kirigakure. Why were the other nations were told a lie then? Why exactly is this happening?" Ggio demanded with a serious expression on his face.

Mei let out a loud sigh and sat back into her chair. "This civil war is happening because of the tyrant of the Mizukage. Yagura was once a kind and gentle man, but he changed overnight. This has led the people to uncertainty about Yagura, and the rumor is that he is being controlled by a third party. This is what I am starting to believe. Yagura had ordered kekkai genkai users to be eradicated, and the worst is happening. Entire clans were wiped off the face of the earth by Yagura's reign over Kirigakure, and the rebels are fighting for our freedom and the future of the Land of Water."

"Why kekkai genkai users though?" A now suspicious Harribel questioned, she could easily tell something was wrong with this picture.

Mei let out another weary sigh. "That's a good question, but I don't know the answer to this question."

"This country needs to be brought back to its former glory." A male voice spoke from behind them, and a man with roughly cut brown hair, golden eyes, and a blue robe that showed his chest stepped into the room, followed by Ameyuri, Ao, Haku, and Chōjūrō.

Mei leaned forward, and her eyes bored into Harribel's, then Ggio's. "Now that you know the truth, what will you do for us? Are you going to leave and pretend this never happened, go to Yagura, or will you both aid us in the battle for peace?"

Harribel glanced at Ggio, and he nodded his head at her. "We will stay and fight."

Mei grinned, as did her companions. "Good…..Now tell me, what was your real reason to come here?"

"What do you mean by that?" Harribel countered back. Ggio was now interested in this conversation, as even he did not know Harribel's true cause for coming to the Land of Water.

"No one in this war torn world would come all the way here just to find the true cause of the civil war here. Kumogakure is too busy trying to claim kekkai genkai for their own uses, Iwagakure is too greedy and self-reliant, and Konohagakure is full of arrogant fools with their puppet Hokage named Tsunade."  
"Puppet Hokage?" Harribel questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"This is common knowledge in Kirigakure and possibly Sunagakure. Tsunade Senju went insane several years ago after executing a boy named Naruto Uzumaki, and she lost most of her sanity. She is controlled by her selfish council who spoils some brat and is just a mere puppet to the people of Konoha. Few of the Konoha populace fled to Amegakure, knowing Akatsuki inhabited the area, so they could get a clean getaway. Anyways, back on topic, Sunagakure just had their Kazekage kidnapped by the Akatsuki. By the way, his rescuers match your descriptions. Coincidence?"

Harribel's and Ggio's eyes widened, she had figured the both of them out that easily. Mei's smirk grew larger when she saw the two's reactions.

"What is your secret…? You both are hiding something and something big."

Harribel sighed; she knew she would have to tell her past life's story again, and to mostly strangers.

"Tell me, do you ever believe in reincarnation?"

"Impossible." Ao scoffed, Mei merely raised an eyebrow.

"I was once a young boy in this world with hopes and dreams. This boy's name was Naruto Uzumaki." A gasp could be heard, and everyone's attention was diverted to Haku, who now had tears streaming down her face.

"N-N-Naruto-kun?" She whispered, believing this too good to be true.

"Hello Haku, nice to see you again. Though last time I thought you had died in battle?"

"That was merely an ice clone you had buried. I had swapped myself with a long-lasting ice clone to take the impact of the Chidori."

"Anyways, back to the original topic. Continue your story Naruto." Mei cut in sharply.

"Right. Naruto Uzumaki was unfairly untreated by the villagers just because he was the tenant of the Kurama, or Kyūbi, and they were blinded by their hatred." Utakata's eyes softened, someone else had experienced the burden of being a Jinchūriki like himself.

"The spoiled Uchiha heir, Sasuke, defected from the village to join Orochimaru, and Naruto brought him back by force. Naruto took the most damage, but he was executed for harming the Uchiha, and his soul was never laid to rest, thus, I was born. Tier Harribel, a hollow, or a being with no soul, was roaming the hollow afterlife of Hueco Mundo for what seemed to be centuries. I created a group for female hollows, and then Aizen found us. We willingly became his pawns, and he killed his Espada when only one was left living. I was the last Espada, I trusted Aizen with all of my heart, and he slayed me in front of the Shinigami."

"Tell me, how did you end up in this world of the living again?" Ao questioned.

"I…I really don't know….." Harribel muttered as she looked at her folded hands. Ameyuri's eyes narrowed, she could tell Harribel was somewhat lying when she had said she didn't know what had occurred.

"What was your rank is this Espada?" Mei questioned, her thoughts brimming on how powerful this woman truly was.

"I was the Tercera. This means I was the third strongest out of the ten Espada."

"Interesting…what about you?" Mei turned to Ggio, and he flinched at the woman's eerie smile.

"I was just one of the second Espada's many Fracción. Nothing really special 'bout me over here." Ggio muttered, and his was head bowed in shame.

Mei remained silent as she studied the duo over. Finally, she spoke up, "How would you two like to be one of the main adversaries in this rebellion?"  
"We would be honored, Mei-sama." Harribel stood up and bowed at Mei, and Ggio followed suit.

Mei laughed and said, "No need for that, you both don't need to bow to me. Everyone is an equal in this army, and we all can make a difference."

"Terumī-sama, we still need to come up with a plan for the siege of Kirigakure." Utakata spoke up, his voice calm.

"Alright, everyone, sit around the map." Mei said, and everyone immediately obeyed her orders.

"How about we send an ambush force in to wreak havoc among the forces?" Haku suggested seriously as she eyes the large scale map of Kirigakure.

"That wouldn't work well. As Chōjūrō and I were scouting earlier, we discovered they had doubled their patrols and defenses just in anticipation of us attacking." Ao countered back, and Haku shrunk back into her seat timidly.

Ameyuri was studying the map intently, and after a brief moment of silence, she had formulated a battle strategy.

"We could send a decoy team into the outer Southern wall, and another in the Eastern. The Northern and Western walls are usually less guarded, so the main forces could easily swamp the walls."

"But why would they have fewer guards there and not have a plan or trap? For all we know, the strongest, including Yagura, could be waiting at those certain walls!" Utakata cut in with slight anger.

"True, but there is a possibility!" Ameyuri countered back.

"A possibility? Chances are that is the case!" Utakata shot angrily back.

"Both of you shut the hell up before I kill the both of you." Mei said with a wide grin on her face. Utakata and Ameyuri flinched backwards at the look on Mei's face.

"What Yagura? Isn't he a Jinchūriki also?" Harribel cut in, her eyes full of worry.

"I could go against him, but I cannot go past 3 tails at one time." Utakata offered.

"No!" Mei shouted. "Knowing Yagura, he would hide away in the Mizukage's tower. We should eradicate the lesser forces and save Yagura for last!"

"U-U-Um…..excuse me?" Chōjūrō timidly cut in, and he shrunk backwards when the arguments stopped and all eyes turned to him. "M-M-Maybe we should send a decoy force to the least guarded gate, as Haku-san said, so all available enemy forces would rush there, and then we swarm the other gates at the same time?"

"Brilliant boy!" Ao shouted out in victory, and he patted Chōjūrō's back really hard, so he was sent flying head first into the wood table. "Uh…sorry?"

"That is a good plan…..we should go with that as the first part of the invasion…but what should be a backup plan?"

"We get the hell out of there if that doesn't work." Ggio spoke up, "The heavily guarded gates would nearly be impossible to breach if they have great numbers. The lesser guarded gates would probably have more Jōnin and ANBU, so the forces sent there would be cut down quickly. We would all be dead or have a lot less numbers than what we would have now."

"True….alright, that's plan B. Now, what will be part two?"  
"Easy….once the lesser shinobi and the walls are breached, we, the leaders, head to Yagura, and we will defeat him!" Ao rushed out, excitement in his words.

"True, but that also could have a great flaw. Yagura could have his elite forces guarding him." Ameyuri pointed out sternly.

"Then we cut them down." Harribel declared, her eyes shining in anticipation.

"This sounds like a good plan. We strike in one week! Prepare your divisions! We shall move out during the sunset in exactly a week!" All the members at the table stood up, and they began to exit.

"The path to peace has begun." Mei muttered to herself as she stared at the map of Kirigakure, and she threw a red senbon at the replica of Kirigakure, more specifically, the Mizukage's tower. "Get ready Yagura, we _will end_ your existence, I swear it on the Terumī name!"

* * *

**END OF CHAPTER 3: Kirigakure's Gathering Hope! **

**Was this satisfactory? Please review! If I get 10 reviews, I'll update by NEXT SATURDAY! 20 Reviews and 2 new chapters! **

**I'm so happy, my birthday is on Tuesday! I share it with a favorite character of mine…..just guess which character I'm talking about! First to guess correctly wins free virtually cookies! **

**Who would've guessed I brought back Haku? And Ameyuri? **

**I plan on recreating Harribel's Fracción with new people and I'm holding a vote. The options are: **

**Guren, Pakura, Karin, Yūgao, Maki, Kurotsuchi, or Karui! Only three will make it, and each person can only vote once! Sorry about not many options, but I have plans for the ones not included!**

**PLEASE REVIEW AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK! I WANT TO KNOW HOW TO MAKE THIS STORY MORE APPEALING! AND I WANT TO KNOW YOUR OPINIONS AND TIPS ON HOW I COULD MAKE THIS BETTER! **

'**Till next time,**

**~ Zantana ~ **


	4. A New Dawn, A New Hope

**Nei Hao! **

**Would've updated sooner, but I was reading so many other fanfics on this site that my brain seemed to turn to mush, and especially since half of it was Yaoi…..**

**X-x-Kag-Xion-Uchiha-x-X: There does need to be more serious fiction! Most fics make it seem like being a ninja like a regular occupation with the village's all happy like with no problems! Thanks for the compliment too! **

**Miss Lizzy-chan: Thanks so much for the compliment~! **

**TheBlackSeaReaper: Thanks too! **

**My poll has ended. The next two stories I shall be working on are the Crystal Release Naruto X Konan story where Naruto is in the Akatsuki. The other fic will be the one where Naruto is raised and trained by Nagato and Konan, and becomes the heir to their techniques. It will be a Naruto X Fū X Guren fic. **

_**I really suggest listening to the music suggested when there are stars and the theme and composer is said. **_

**Don't wanna rant too much this chapter, since there are some pretty good fight scenes! **

**First half of the chapter WILL NOT focus on Harribel and Ggio, more of it focuses on Mei, Haku, Ameyuri, Chōjūrō, Ao, and Utakata. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_Into the night_

_Desperate and broken_

_The sound of a fight_

_Father has spoken._

_We were the kings and queens of promise_

_We were the victims of ourselves_

_Maybe the children of a lesser god_

_Between heaven and hell,_

_Heaven and hell._

_Into your eyes_

_Hopeless and taken_

_We stole our new lives_

_Through blood and pain_

_In defense of our dreams_

_In defense of our dreams_

_We were the kings and queens of promise_

_We were the victims of ourselves_

_Maybe the children of a lesser god_

_Between heaven and hell,_

_Heaven and hell._

_The age of man is over_

_A darkness comes at dawn_

_These lessons that we've learned here_

_Have only just begun_

_We were the kings and queens of promise_

_We were the victims of ourselves_

_Maybe the children of a lesser god_

_Between heaven and hell._

_We are the kings_

_We are the queens_

_We are the kings_

_We are the queens_

_~ Kings and Queens by 30 Seconds to Mars ~_

* * *

~ Rebels camp: 6 Days after Harribel's and Ggio's arrival ~

"Come on! Work harder if you want to win!" Ameyuri yelled at the training shinobi rebels, and everyone was glaring at the sadistic woman.

"You bitch! We can't take any more of this! Besides, we need to ne in top condition for the siege!" A random guy yelled at her, and Ameyuri's eyes narrowed to slits. "Oh shit….." the guy mumbled as he started to run from the enraged commander. Ameyuri caught him in a chokehold easily, and she whispered in his ear,

"What the hell did you just say to me?"

"N-Nothing…."

"You did have a valid reason though…..you just worded it wrong. ALL OF YOU ARE DISMISSED!" Ameyuri shouted, and released the man from her iron-like grip. Everyone immediately fled to their respective tents in fear.

Underneath the shade of a tree, Ggio snorted in amusement at the training regime. Sighing, he stood up and stretched, and then walked over to Ameyuri who was hacking away at a training dummy.

"Ya know, you didn't have to be so harsh." He stated as he watched Ameyuri's graceful movements.

"I know…but I want them all ready for the fight tomorrow."

"You don't want them to die, don't you?" Ameyuri stopped her vicious assault and looked down silently. "Isn't being a shinobi having to accept death?"

"It is…..it pains me to see people throwing their lives away just for something that should be there. Peace should be there, but since there are concepts such as 'hate' and 'greed', this world will never have peace unless concepts are eliminated. People fear death, as do I."

Ggio stared at Ameyuri; he didn't expect her to say something so emotional to him.

Suddenly, the familiar sound of static was heard as Harribel used Sonίdo to reach the clearing.

"Ameyuri, Ggio, there is one final war meeting we must attend to." The trio headed towards the tent, and walked inside to see the other commanders already there.

"Sit down." Mei said gravely, and they didn't dare oppose her. In front of them was a large map of Kirigakure, and it was detailed to every last inch.

******************Theme is Heart of Courage by Two Steps From Hell*******************

"Alright, tomorrow is the day we will launch our assault on the Hidden Mist. I may not see any of you all sitting here again after tomorrow, so I am going to say this now. I am honored to fight beside such noble warriors such as you all, and that we all went down with a hopeful dream in mind."

Mei smiled at each one of them, and Haku was even crying at the thought of losing more of her precious people.

"If I die out there tomorrow, I want you all to continue forward and make our dream a reality. I do not want my or any other's death to be in vain." Ao spoke up with a small, mournful smile on his face.

"I…I…..want you all to know that if I die in battle, move on, don't mourn too badly." Haku whispered, her voice cracking at the end of her statement.

"…" Ameyuri said nothing; she just kept her head bowed.

"If I die, I know my death will not be in vain. I died fighting for what I believed in." Utakata said with a cheerful smile.

"I-I-I feel honored to fight with the kindest, most pure hearted people all with a vision of hope, and if I die, it won't matter as it was for a good cause." Chōjūrō whispered with confidence.

"I feel honored to have fought by such wonderful allies, and if anyone of you dies, your legacy will be known throughout history!" Harribel declared with her eyes shining with a determined fire.

"If I die, just know that if y'all don't fulfill the goal, I WILL come back to haunt the living survivors!" Ggio promised with a glare, and his little joke seemed to clear up some of the tension.

"Now that we got that out of the way, let's go over the final battle plan." Mei placed a finger the Eastern wall on the map of Kirigakure. "Intel had shown the Eastern wall has more long-range users, so Chōjūrō, Ameyuri, lead your factions to attack this wall in an ambush tactic." Mei's finger slid over to the Western wall. "The Western wall will NOT be attacked, but Ao, keep your units around this area."

"If that wall is not going to be attacked, why would my faction want to be there?" Ao questioned.

"Simple. The Western wall is mostly guarded by ANBU and Jōnin, so we will attack the Eastern and Northern walls, drawing the least guarded walls' guards to head to the attacked walls. This will allow your faction nearly free access into Kirigakure." Mei's finger now slid to the Northern wall. "Harribel, your and Ggio's faction will be attacking the Northern wall.

Haku, your faction will work with my faction to get through the Southern wall, alright?"

Mei grabbed a red pin and stuck it at the spot where the Mizukage's tower was located. "After we get in, the commanders will meet at the Mizukage's tower for the final battle. We will go against Yagura, so be prepared!"

"Um…Terumī-sama, you didn't mention my group….." Utakata spoke up uncertainly.

"Oh, right! Utakata, your faction has a special duty. Your group will try to invade by the ocean or water sources."

"Okay Terumī-sama." Utakata had his doubts t attacking by water, but he held true by sticking to orders.

"Get some rest, we all will need it." Mei said as they all began exiting the tent one final time.

* * *

~ Next Day: Center of the Rebel's Camp ~

The rebel shinobi stood lined up in order of factions, while the commanders stood up front.

***********THEME IS UNITED WE STAND, UNITED WE FALL by Two Steps from Hell****************

"THE PEOPLE OF THIS LAND HAVE SUFFERED ENOUGH!" Mei shouted to the excited rebels. "WE HAVE HAD OUR FAMILIES AND COMRADES KILLED RIGHT IN FRONT OF OUR EYES, YET WE HAVE DONE NOTHING! TODAY MARKS THE DAY WE WILL END THIS TYRANCY! WE WILL HAVE CASUALTIES, BUT THE DEATHS WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN IN VAIN! THEY WOULD HAVE DIED FIGHTING FOR THE FREEDOM WE HAVE SEEKED FOR YEARS! FIGHT WITH ALL WE HAVE!" Mei's speech inspired the soldiers, and the cheering escalated.

"MOVE OUT!" All the commanders said this at once, and each faction leaped towards their battle position.

* * *

~ Close range squad- Ameyuri's and Chōjūrō's Squad~

****************THEME IS PROTECTORS OF THE EARTH BY TWO STEPS FROM HELL**********

"We're heading out towards the Eastern wall." Ameyuri told her troops as they stood by awaiting her orders. "The Eastern wall is the wall with the most guards," Many shinobi flinched at this. "But most of the guards use long range techniques, so be careful when at a distance. Let's move out."

The squad silently ran through the mist, and soon the Eastern loomed over them, seemingly mocking them at its presence. Chōjūrō signaled to the troops, and a shout came up from enemy lines.

"Shit." Ameyuri swore as she realized the enemy forces must have had a sensor. "Prepare for battle!" She called out quietly, and the shinobi gripped their daggers, swords, chains, and other various weapons.

"Move out." Chōjūrō whispered, and hell broke out.

The sound of steel meeting steel resonated throughout the area. The rebels had a major advantage, the most used chakra nature in Kirigakure was Suiton, and there were no close water sources besides the mist.

Ameyuri grinned, and slowly she drew out the dual blades known as the Kiba. She pumped Electric chakra into the blades, and the blades became even more dangerous.

"Muon Satsujin Jutsu." She whispered while doing the hand seals and the mist became even thicker than before. Ameyuri than began to twirl in circles, and she easily cut through enemy shinobi who didn't see her coming.

Chōjūrō was having a harder time than Ameyuri. The entire enemies' jutsu seemed to be aiming for him, and that barely gave him enough reaction time to attack back. When he finally got an opening, he quickly unwrapped the bandages keeping his Hiramekarei. He pumped his chakra into the sword, and decided to form it into his usual hammer. Any enemy that was close to the boy would be immediately swung into the nearest object.

About 10 minutes into the fights, Ameyuri glanced around at the defenses. Corpses littered the ground, and she could recognize some of the rebels from around camp. Her frown deepened when she saw a young girl's corpse, and she could tell the girl died happily just because she had made a difference in this civil war.

The air smelled of rust and salt; the smell of blood. The ground was caked in red, and much of the enemy was eradicated, but almost half of her forces were wiped out, and about 35% of that was injured.

She sighed as she lifted up the Kiba again, and what were left of the Kirigakure forces were wiped out by Ameyuri's graceful movements. She glanced at Chōjūrō, and he gave her a subtle nod.

"REBELS! The injured, if you can still walk come with us! If you cannot walk, stay here! The uninjured and the ones who can walk, go through the entire village and wipe out as many who resist as you can! Civilians are not to be harmed unless openly opposed! Let's move!" The remaining rebels took off to her orders, and Chōjūrō and she ran to the Mizukage's tower.

* * *

~ Mid-range Squad- Haku's Squad & Mei's Squad ~

"Everyone ready?" Mei asked as they stood at the tree line in front of the Southern wall.

"HAI!" Was the unanimous reply.

"Let's kick some Kirigakure ass!" Mei grinned sadistically, and they all charged.

The air was filled with screams, grunts, and yells as the battle raged on. The rebels caught this sector by surprise, as they didn't have a sensor, but this wall seemed to have a lot of Jōnin.

Mei made her way around the battlefield, and she would occasionally send a lava glob out, but when she managed to get a group of enemy shinobi on her tail, she used the Futton: Kōmu no Jutsu, which resulted in enemies and some allies melting to a little puddle on the ground.

"Die bitch!" Mei heard as she saw a man charge her. She shot a fireball at the man, but he dodged and sent a Suiton dragon at her.

"Nice try, but you'll need better than that to kill me." Mei taunted, her smirk growing bigger.

"You ugly bitch!" The man spat at her, and Mei's eyes seemed to have a fire in them now.

"What did you just call me?" She screeched angrily.

"I told the truth, you are an ugly, freaky, kekkai genkai bitch!" The man spat again.

Mei smiled sweetly, but if he knew her, that was her 'you are about to die slowly and painfully' smile.

"What is your name?" She asked.

"I am Chūkichi! I am the best sensor Mizukage-sama has!" He stated proudly, a smirk set on his face.

"Well, Chūkichi, I'm Mei Terumī, and I'm prepared to kill you as painful as possible." Chūkichi paled at the name, Yagura had told all of his men to watch out for this woman, so she was a feared figure to the Kirigakure ninja.

"Suiton: Bakusui Shōha!" That was Chūkichi's fatal mistake, he had used a technique that was devastating, but it came with a great amount of chakra to use. Mei calmly stared at the wall of water coming at her, and just when it was about to hit, she made the hand signs for a specific jutsu.

"Suiton: Suijkinhei." A dome of water surrounded Mei, and the wave merely went over and through her dome. She apparently manipulated the water to rush away from her, but nearby fights was interrupted by the wave. "It's a shame, but it appears this battle is already over." Mei sighed, and she brought her palm to her mouth. She blew a fireball at the panting Chūkichi, but he barely dodged at the last second.

"Damn you…." He muttered, but she still heard it anyways.

"Getting cocky, aren't you? You need to be taught a lesson." Mei brought her hand to her mouth, and blew a continuous stream of fire at Chūkichi, but he appeared to have used the Suiton: Suijinheki himself to put the fire out before it reached him.

"I bet you're now low on chakra. Just give up now."

"I will never give up to a bitch like you!" Chūkichi said this with a snarl and right after saying this he spat at Mei's face. Mei merely wiped her face off with an eerily calm expression, and a large smile spread across her features.

"Die Chūkichi-teme." Mei brought her hand to her face one last time, and blew her scalding mist towards Chūkichi. As soon as he breathed inwards, he let out a pained scream as he began to melt before her eyes. She walked away before she could see him fully melt, and she had a satisfied smirk on her face.

Meanwhile, Haku was creating mirrors all over the battleground. She was continuously swapping from mirror to mirror, and the enemy was hit with waves of senbon coming from all directions.

As she was doing this, she heard explosions coming from somewhere to her left. What she saw terrified her to no end. Jinpachi Munashi, the wielder of the explosive blade Shibuki, had entered the fray, but the worst part was that he was fighting for Yagura's forces.

Haku's terror increased as she saw Jinpachi was looking at her, and a sadistic grin was on his face.

Jinpachi stalked over to her, and swung his blade at her mirror. The endless explosion tags on the blade went off, but Haku swapped to a mirror vertical to the one she was just in.

With a single handed seal, Haku managed to use her Makyō Hyōshō technique.

Jinpachi merely grinned at this new complication, and mockingly called out, "So you're one of those bastard Yuki clan members. I had such fun wiping out the remains of the Yuki. But it appears I missed one…let me finish you here!"

Haku's usually calm features twisted into a snarl of rage, and she said, "I will not be the one wiped out. You, Jinpachi Munashi shall die here by my hand." And then the battle began.

Haku was using her extraordinary speed to send wave after wave of ice senbon at Jinpachi, but he dodged the majority and managed to reflect a few at the woman. Jinpachi would then charge at one of the ice mirrors, and the explosive power of the Shibuki managed to destroy mirror after mirror. Haku would then recreate the mirror, but she soon felt the taxing effects of continuously doing this.

If Haku stopped even for one moment to catch her breath, Jinpachi could easily destroy the mirror she was in, and then easily kill her. If she was killed the plan could go into shambles.

'_I need to lure him into one spot, and then unleash my best attack when I'm certain he cannot move from that spot easily.' _

"Fūton: Kamikaze." Haku whispered as she formed the hand signs needed for the Fūton jutsu. Several small tornados formed inside of the dome, and now Jinpachi had to avoid senbon and the tornadoes.

Haku formed another one handed seal, and whispered, "Suiton: Suiryūben." An orb of water formed at the center of the dome, and Haku tried to concentrate while continuing to move from mirror to mirror. Several whips of water came out of the orb, and Haku manipulated them to go after Jinpachi.

Jinpachi dodged to the left when a whip came at him, but then he jumped in the air to avoid four shots coming from all directions. This was a fatal mistake because as soon as he couldn't control where he was landing, the four whips shot upwards, and he was hit directly, and was sent flying into the ground.

Haku's concentration broke, and the technique was canceled. Jinpachi slowly got up, and he spat blood onto the ground.

"You think you could defeat me with some pesky little technique like that? Think again, little girl!" Jinpachi charged at a mirror again, but found himself trapped. "What the hell?"

"You're trapped in my Fūton: Kamikaze technique. This battle is over." Haku stated calmly as he formed several hand signs. "This technique should be considered an S-ranked technique, but I have never shown anyone this technique, so fell honored. Hyōten Hyakkasō!"

Several ice spikes rose up from the ground, and shot towards Jinpachi, who dodged half of them, but the rest impaled him in several, non-fatal places. Haku then sent several ice senbon towards Jinpachi's arms, and he was forced to drop his sword due to vital spots in his arms being punctured by the senbon.

"Die." Haku whispered as the final, and the fatal part of the technique came. Jinpachi became encased in a pillar of ice, and it seemed as if the ice formed several flowers from within itself. Haku glared at the ice statue of Jinpachi, and deactivated her Demonic Ice Mirrors. She then fell to the ground in exhaustion, and Mei rushed over to her.

"Haku, take this chakra pill." Mei handed Haku the chakra pill, which she gratefully took, and she swallowed the pill immediately.

She stood up slowly, and glared at the ice pillar.

"Someone needs to destroy the pillar before he escapes."

"I'll do it." Mei offered with a smile. She then did a fireball that shattered the pillar easily, and Jinpachi was no more. His blade lay forgotten on the ground, or at least until Mei walked over and sealed the blade into a spare scroll on her belt.

"ALRIGHT! THIS SECTOR'S CLEAR, SO WE NEED TO SIEGE KIRIGAKURE! THE WOUNDED STAY HERE! UNINJURED GO INTO THE CITY, BUT AVOID THE MIZUKAGE'S TOWER!" Mei shouted to the remaining rebels, and there was not that many left. Haku's faction had 150 people originally, now it had 75. Mei had 200, now she only had 120 soldiers left in her division.

"Haku, let's go to the Mizukage's Tower, and then we should probably wait for the others."

"Hai." The two kunoichi leaped into the bloody streets of Kirigakure.

~ Medical, Sensor, and Ambush Squad- Ao's ~

Ao was staring intently at the Western wall, but what nobody knew that Ao had his Byakugan eye activated. The other shinobi thought he was using a sensor technique, but he really was using the Byakugan to scout out the area.

Ao's entire division was lined up behind tress and boulders, and they all were waiting for Ao to signal to move out into Kirigakure.

"Sir, the coast seems to be clear." A sensor informed him, but he shook his head.

"No, there are 12 ANBU hidden, and they covered their chakra signatures." The sensor seemed impressed by this, so he took another thorough check.

"It does seem the Jōnin went to help the attacked walls, but these ANBU Black Ops are staying here…..this could complicate things." Ao muttered to himself, and then he glanced at the ANBU again. Half were hunter nin, so they would probably use techniques that were more suited for capture, so Ao was only worried about his troops being knocked unconscious. The ANBU were the only problem.

ANBU were the best ninja of the village besides the Kage, and could handle assassinations and killing in a split second. If would take ANBU to go against ANBU, or at least a very talented Jōnin to go against ANBU.

Ao sighed once more, and declared the grave news.

"We're going to have to fight the Black Ops guards."

"What? That'll be like committing suicide!" A medical ninja whispered furiously back.

"It's the only option, they won't be moving anytime soon." Ao knew what he had to do, even if he died in process. "Don't follow me." He ordered as he rushed towards the wall.

The Hunter ninja came onto him first, and waves of senbon were aimed at vital spots. Ao dodged the majority with the usage of his Byakugan, and managed to knock 3 of them out with quick throws of his own senbon and shuriken.

The Hunter ninja stepped up their game, and the remaining 3 used water whips to try to capture Ao. He dodged the first two whips, but the third managed to ensnare him.

'_Guess this it…' _Ao thought as the Hunter-nin pumped Raiton chakra into the whip, and he was electrocuted.

"FIGHT!" Ao's fighting forces rushed out of the trees and other hiding spots, and the Hunter ninja were caught by surprise. The ANBU did nothing to help their comrades, and they seemed to be enjoying their comrades' misery.

The hunter ninja let go of the whips, but that was a fatal mistake on their part, as Ao managed to kill the three by senbon in their necks.

"Are you all right Ao-sama?" A medical ninja asked as she rushed up to him.

"I'm fine! I'm not so old that I can't take just a minute of being electrocuted!" Ao declared with a small smile.

"I…..I was just checking." The kunoichi ran off before Ao could say another word.

Ao evaluated the situation. Only 2 ANBU were killed by the sudden charge, but the remaining seemed to be targeting the medical ninja for a good reason. About half of the rebel medical ninja were already killed by the ANBU, and more were to come.

Ao dodged a blow sent by a katana, and he had to bend backwards to avoid a second katana aimed at his throat.

"Think you can kill me that easily?" Ao scoffed as he repeatedly dodged the two sword masters' katanas.

Ao grabbed a fallen shinobi's tantō, and he was easily able to parry the sword blows aimed at him. With one graceful movement, Ao was able to slash one of the ANBU across the chest, and he fell over dead. This seemed to enrage the other ANBU, and the blows got harder and more powerful, but also more sloppy. Ao was easily able to kill off the other ANBU.

By this point, all the other ANBU were killed off, so Ao's division was given free access into Kirigakure.

Ao did one final glance over, and saw that almost half of his division was wiped out by the enemy. Most of these were medical ninja, but he couldn't be too sure, as some might be still living, just unconscious.

Ao looked over at the Mizukage's tower, and he yelled out, "Sweep the streets and kill off enemy shinobi loyal to Yagura!"

A chorus of 'hai' met Ao's ears, and he rushed into the village.

~ Long range users- Utakata ~

"Utakata-sama, when should we go?" Hotaru asked her master, her eyes eager.

Utakata sighed, and said, "I told you not to call me 'Master'! We will go when the coast seems to be clear!" Utakata was obviously agitated at Hotaru, he never wanted her to get caught up in the rebellion, but she demanded to take part, and she followed him there stubbornly.

"The coast is clear!" A sensor whispered to Utakata, and he signaled to the troops behind him.

"Let's move!" All of the troops rushed after Utakata, but as soon as they reached the city, several Jōnin and ANBU met up with the rebels.

"You aren't going to get much farther!" A man at the front of the Kirigakure ninja smirked, his eyes full of want to kill the rebels in front of him.

Utakata merely sighed and grabbed his bubble blower. He captured all the shinobi in bubbles except the one man, and the bubbles were filled up with a black liquid. The bubbles popped, and there were no corpses, nothing was left of the shinobi that were once encased inside of the bubbles.

"Spare me!" The man screamed with his hands in the air in surrender, but one of Utakata's men threw a shuriken at the man, and he fell over dead.

"Go through all of Kirigakure, got it?" Utakata ordered, and his troops went out and swept the streets of Kirigakure.

Utakata glanced at Yagura's tower, and he felt a sinking feeling at the bottom of his stomach. That was where the final battle was going to be fought, and he had a feeling something was going to go wrong.

* * *

~ Harribel's and Ggio's Squadron: Northern Wall~

Harribel's eyes were closed in concentration as she used Pesquisa.

She spread her spiritual pressure around the area, and she could sense at least 30 Genin, 25 Chūnin, 20 Jōnin, and at least 5 ANBU Black Ops.

Her forces patiently waited behind her, and she opened her eyes.

"About 80 shinobi total, prepare for a total bloodbath." Harribel's calm, yet grave voice broke through the silence, and the awaiting shinobi released the breath they were holding.

Ggio snorted. "They probably heard about the attacks on the other walls, and they got suspicious about the only wall that wasn't attacked."

"True." Harribel nodded solemnly as she stared at the wall in anticipation. She could already hear the sounds of battle from the other walls, so the other divisions were doing their job.

"Let's move." Everyone rushed at each other at the same time; it was pandemonium.

Ggio mercilessly cut through enemy Kirigakure shinobi, but one Jōnin seemed to give him a lot of trouble.

"Take this!" The Jōnin yelled as he slashed horizontally with his tantō, and a wide gash formed diagonally from Ggio's chest.

"I better thank that séptima Espada for picking up this technique." Ggio's voice came from behind the man, and he slowly turned around to see the uninjured Ggio. "I believe this little move is called Hemerosusonīdo."

"How….?" The man trailed off, and he flinched backwards in horror as he got his first glance at his opponent.

"What the hell are you!" He cried out as he saw Ggio's mask fragments.

Ggio's eyes narrowed, and he calmly said,

"Your worst nightmare." He used Sonίdo to appear behind him, and stabbed the man through the torso, giving him the final blow. The man spat out blood as the blood on the sword dripped on the ground.

"Ugh….I didn't want to stain my sword with blood, and this happens…." Ggio muttered as he pulled his sword out of the man's chest, and a disturbing sound came as this occurred. "Let's have more fun, shall we Tigre Estoque?"

Ggio used Sonίdo to get on the wall, and started laughing maniacally as he charged up a rose colored Cero in his palm. Several allies and enemies were extinguished on the spot, and everyone looked at Ggio fearfully.

Harribel's eye twitched as she saw the Cero. '_Grimmjow and he would probably get together nicely, that is if both were still alive' _Harribel figured that the battle-crazed Espada would have met his end by this point.

She then sensed an enemy ninja sneaking up behind her, so she whirled around and she grabbed Tiburón swiftly and used Ola Azul to slash the enemy across the chest. He gave one finally glare as he crumpled to the ground dead.

She scoffed at how the enemy ninja seemed to put up little a fight, and she walked through the masses of shinobi and cut down anyone who dared to get in her path.

"Hey rebel bitch, take this!" Harribel's eyes narrowed as she turned around to face a water dragon being aimed at her face. She merely raised Tiburón at the dragon, and the water dissipated due to Tiburón's abilities. "Damn you bitch, DIE!"

The foolish man charged her with a kunai, and Harribel let him get close. Just as he was at her arm's reach, she grabbed his neck and began to suffocate him.

"What did you just call me?" Harribel's voice was dangerously calm, her eyes icy.

"The…bi…tch…..you….are!" The man panted out, the lack of oxygen causing him to drop the kunai in his hand.

Harribel immediately snapped his neck, and she was pissed beyond hell, and a wise man once said that 'Hell had no fury like a woman scorned'. That man was correct.

Harribel glared at the fighting below her, and she charged several Ola Azul's, and she shot them at any and all enemies in her sight.

The look on the rebels faces were priceless, and a satisfied Harribel finally got back on the ground, the world was literally silent. Everyone was staring at their commander with a horrified/shocked expression, and some were even in awe.

"Wounded and deceased stay here. The uninjured, scour the streets for those who oppose us. Ggio, let's go." Ggio followed after her quickly, and he was afraid she would blow her top at him if he didn't listen to a word she said.

* * *

~ Mizukage's Tower ~

Harribel and Ggio were the last ones waiting at the entrance of the tower.

"Have a nice time?" Ao muttered as he propped one foot against the stone tower.

Ggio sent him an angry glare, and Harribel pretended not to hear him.

"Everyone, this is it. You all ready?" A somewhat scared Mei asked, and that could be easily told from the fear in her voice.

"I am ready." Haku whispered, fingering her steel senbon worriedly.

"Ready." Ao had his eyes closed, and he looked as if were about to cry.

"I've been ready for this for a long time." Ameyuri grinned, showing off her sharpened teeth.

"R-R-Ready…." An uncertain Chōjūrō whispered.

"We're ready." Harribel motioned to herself and Ggio while staring at the top of the tower.

"I'm ready." Utakata spoke, and his eyes glinted with an unknown intent.

"Let's do this." Mei said as she opened the doors to the tower, and the group entered.

The Mizukage's tower was empty, but they all knew better. They ran up the steps, and Ameyuri cut down the door that prevented them from access to the Mizukage's office.

"Hello…rebels." Yagura's voice echoed through the empty room, and the group was shocked to find out he wasn't in the room.

"Where are you hiding, you coward?" A now determined Mei shouted, and Yagura's chuckle could be heard throughout the room.

"Go to the lake, and the final battle shall take place there." Yagura instructed, and the group hurried out the door and to the lake.

They reached the lake in less than 3 minutes, and there stood Yagura at the center of the lake.

"Welcome, and shall we begin?" Yagura's smirk never left his face, and Mei whispered,

"Coordinate our attacks, and look for an opening, got it?"

"Hai." Was the quiet reply back to her little tip.

"I'll charge him." Haku whispered, and before anyone could stop her, she raced towards Yagura.

"Oh, the kekkai genkai bitch decides to charge me? Let's see how this works." Yagura mocked with that same smirk on his face.

Haku remained unfazed, and she sent wave after wave of senbon from all directions, and this was without her mirrors.

"Suiton: Mizukagami no Jutsu." A flat, circular pool of water appeared in front of Yagura, and he rotated it 360˚ to reflect the senbon back at Haku. She gasped in pain as the senbon made contact with her arms, but thankfully no vital spots were hit. She ran away from Yagura, pulling the senbon out at the same time, as Ameyuri and Chōjūrō did a combined attack with the mist. Yagura merely jumped upwards, forcing the duo to stop before they hit each other, but Mei was prepared with a well-timed fireball.

Yagura managed to put it out with a rather large stream of water, but Harribel ran on the air with her sword aimed him. He parried her attacks with his staff, but he was not a master swordsman like Harribel was, so he was doing poorly.

As a result of that, he replaced himself with a Suiton clone, but Ao was right onto him with a Bō staff in his hands. Yagura and Ao got into a little staff match, but Yagura was forced to retreat when Haku sent another wave of senbon at him.

By this point, Haku had the entire lake frozen, and her mirrors prevented anyone from escaping. Chōjūrō and Ameyuri had also made the lake be covered in mist, perfect for their silent killing technique.

Mei raced through the mist, and she found her target pretty easily.

"Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu." Mei blew 4 fire dragons in succession, and Yagura could only dodge two of them.

Yagura's scream of pain immediately alerted the others of his location, and Ameyuri and Chōjūrō appeared through the mist, and Chōjūrō knocked him with Hiramekarei right into a twirling Ameyuri. The sharp blades of the Kiba immediately cut off Yagura's arm, and Tiburón crashed into his other arm, effectively breaking it. Ggio then sliced off Yagura's other arm, and then Ao sent several senbon into Yagura's neck, and he fell limp into the unfrozen lake.

"It's…It's over…" Mei whispered as a grin broke out on her face, but the celebration was short lived. A burst of demonic chakra grabbed all of their attention.

"DO YOU THINK YOU'VE ACTUALLY BEAT ME? THINK AGAIN!" Yagura screamed as the demonic chakra enveloped him.

Ameyuri gulped, and glanced around. "WHERE THE HELL IS UTAKATA WHEN YOU NEED HIM?" Yagura was in the middle of transforming, but now all everyone cared about was where Utakata was.

The man in question was secretly hiding underwater, and he was waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

Harribel sighed, and then she charged the humongous Sanbi. She used Sonìdo to avoid the tails aimed at her. When she attacked one of the tails, her sword uselessly bounced off of it, and the tail swung her back to her allies with a bleeding gash on her stomach.

"I have never seen you messed up this badly, Halibel." Ggio said with a cringe, which she sent him a dark glare in response.

"We're going to need a miracle to be able to defeat a tailed beast." Ao muttered with wide eyes.

"Ameyuri-chan…" Chōjūrō spoke out, and everyone looked at him.

"Yes…?"

"Your blades can cut through anything, right? Maybe they can cut through the Sanbi's armor…?"

"That's brilliant, Chōjūrō-kun!" Ameyuri hoisted her blades over her shoulder, and sped off towards the Sanbi before anyone could stop her. Chōjūrō raced after worriedly, not caring if he got injured in the process.

While that exchange happened, Ggio and Haku were trying to distract the demon in their own ways. Haku was sending wave after wave of senbon, kunai, and shuriken at the Sanbi, while Ggio was using Sonìdo to grab the beast's attention.

Ameyuri jumped high into the air, and she managed to slash a horn off of the tailed beast's head, successfully injuring and enraging it.

"AMEYURI-CHAN! BEHIND YOU!" Chōjūrō screamed as a razor sharp tail came hurtling at her. Ameyuri slowly turned around, only to find blood dripping onto her face. Her expression was horrified as she saw Chōjūrō impaled through the chest by a tail. The rusty smell of salt made him nauseous, but he didn't care.

Chōjūrō gave a small grin as the blood seeped from his mouth as he coughed up some blood.

"Why would you do this?" Ameyuri cried out.

"B…Be….cause I love you Ameyuri. Ever since I first saw you in the academy I have been utterly in love with you." Chōjūrō whispered with labored breaths.

"Chōjūrō…..I always loved you too!" Ameyuri cried out with tears streaming down her face.

"I….I'm…..gl…..ad…too hear that Ameyuri-c…..han…" Chōjūrō whispered as he caressed her cheek, and then his hand fell limply at his side, and his breaths stopped completely.

Ameyuri's eyes widened and the tears came down faster.  
"CHŌJŪRŌ-KUN!" She screamed, and she began to hyperventilate. Ggio used Sonìdo to pick her up and brought her to Haku, who was watching mournfully. Ameyuri kept screaming her lover's name as Mei, Harribel, and Ggio fended off the Sanbi while Ao and Haku comforted her.

Underneath the water, Utakata sighed sadly. He then used the Saiken's power, up to three tails, to combat the Sanbi. He blew a bubble that got Chōjūrō's corpse and brought it to a flat rock.

He then sent explosive bubbles that were even more powered with the six tail's chakra at the Sanbi. The bubbles did some damage, as the beast let out an enraged roar.

"Damn…." He muttered under his breath as he blew a bubble to take him higher in the air.

Ggio sighed as he used Sonìdo to get a greater distance away from the Sanbi.

"Bite off, Tigre Estoque." Ggio's appearance became more feral-like, and he immediately used Misil Diente to shoot the missile-like "teeth" at the Sanbi.

"Dammit!" He swore as the missiles missed by a single centimeter.

Harribel noticed he had gone into Resurrección, she sighed as she realized she would need to use it to help defeat Yagura and the Sanbi.

"Destroy. Tiburón." The familiar heart shaped water enveloped Harribel, and she cut her way out of the water, revealing her Resurrección. She raised her sword and used Trident. The highly forced mist was shot out of her sword, and one of the three tails was managed to be cut off.

The Sanbi roared, and it charged up a tailed beast ball.

Ggio and Harribel had to leap out of the way to avoid the tailed beast ball, but Mei was right behind the tailed beast and was in the perfect position to attack directly.

She brought her hand to her mouth, and she shot out 5 lava globs onto the Sanbi's back, and it dried nearly instantly. The Sanbi's movement was even more limited by this point, but the shinobi and arrancar were now pretty tired out since they didn't have monstrous reserves of chakra or spiritual energy.

"You are going to die, motherfucker!" Ameyuri screamed as she got up from her position in Haku's arms, and she raced towards the Sanbi. She sliced diagonally from its head, and it was stunned for about a minute.

"NOW!" Mei screamed, and everyone unleashed their best attacks. Haku used Hyōten Hyakkasō, Mei used her Lava Dragon jutsu, Harribel unleashed a Gran Rey Cero, Ao used some glowing orb, Ggio used a fully charged Cero, Utakata used a Tailed Beast Ball, and Ameyuri used her swords to their maximum potential.

Everything seemed to go white, and it seemed like the sky exploded.

* * *

~ 3 Days Later: Center of Kirigakure ~

"….And now I would like to proudly unveil our newest Mizukage, everyone welcome the Godaime Mizukage, Mei Terumī!" Mei walked out onto the platform in her battle dress, and she had a smile on her face.

"We had a dream where we had freedom, a dream where we didn't live in fear! Now, this dream has come true! We have our freedom, but now we must work harder than ever to restore Kirigakure's reputation! I, as the Mizukage, will do everything in my power to protect this village and its people with my life!" The audience, composed of civilians and shinobi alike cheered for their new Mizukage.

When they had quieted down, Mei began to speak again.

"I would like to give out awards to the leaders who helped make everything happen. Ao, please come here." Ao stepped up, and Mei handed him a new Kirigakure hitai-ate and a hunter-nin mask. "I now reinstate you as the entire head of Hunter ninja! Ameyuri!" Ameyuri stepped up silently, and Mei handed her a single scroll and a Kirigakure headband. "Ameyuri Ringo, you are now the head of the Kiri no Shinobigatana Shichinin Shū, and you are presented with the Shibuki and Hiramekarei blades. Haku Momochi!" Haku stepped up, and Mei handed her a Kirigakure headband. "Haku Momochi, you are now the head of the Yuki clan and a Jōnin of Kirigakure. Utakata!"

Utakata stepped up, and a faint cry of 'master!' was heard from Hotaru, and that made him sigh. Mei handed him an ANBU mask and a headband. "Utakata, you are now ANBU captain and an official shinobi of Kirigakure! Tier Harribel!" A now confused Harribel stepped up as Mei handed her an ANBU mask and a hitai-ate. "Tier Harribel, you are now considered a shinobi and ANBU of Kirigakure! Ggio Vega!"

Ggio walked up to her, and she handed him an ANBU mask and a hitai-ate. "Ggio Vega, you are now considered a shinobi and ANBU of Kirigakure! Everyone, we have a fallen commander who died honorably protecting the one he loved. Everyone, please take a moment to mourn the loss of Chōjūrō." The people of the audience bowed their heads in respect, and after a few minutes everyone looked up at their Mizukage.

"What are you looking at me for? Today is a day to celebrate, not grieve! Go have fun!" Mei encouraged and the people roared in happiness.

~ That night, Mizukage's office ~

"You're leaving tomorrow?" An astonished Mei asked as Harribel and Ggio expressed their desire.

"Hai. We need to keep moving around the continent to find out more intel." Harribel calmly responded back.

Mei sat back in her chair and sighed. "Well, I can't stop you two, but always know there is a place here in Kirigakure, got it?"

"Of course." Harribel replied with a smile.

"But can you do one favor for me?" Mei asked with a serious gaze. Harribel nodded. "I want you to stop by Amegakure. That village is rumored to be the hiding place of the Akatsuki, and it seems to be the perfect place to hide out."

"We'll stop by Amegakure first then, that does sound rather suspicious."

Mei sighed, "It's only a matter of time before they come after Utakata, but I don't know what they will do with Yagura dead."

"Can't the tailed beast reform itself?"

"It can, but…." Mei trailed off, her eyes going wide in realization.

"I'd recommend watching all bodies of water for the tailed beast if I were you."

"Right."

"See you tomorrow, Mei-san."

* * *

~ Next Day: Kirigakure Gates ~

As Harribel and Ggio rounded the corner to the gates, they saw Utakata, Mei, Haku, Ameyuri, and Ao waiting for them.

"We wanted to say goodbye." Haku said with a smile. "Have a safe journey and be safe!"

"It was nice to see you again Haku-chan." Harribel replied back with an eye smile.

"It was a pleasure to meet you." Ggio said with a smile at her.

"It was great to work with the both of you." Ao said to the duo with a kind, genuine smile.

"As was with you." Harribel said back.

"What's under that eye patch?" Was all Ggio said.

"That's a secret." Ao winked.

"….Goodbye….." Ameyuri whispered as she stared at the duo.

Harribel came up and hugged her, much to her shock. "It won't hurt so much later on." She whispered in her ear.

Utakata merely smiled and wished them the best of luck, which Harribel returned.

"REMEMBER! YOU ALWAYS WILL HAVE A PLACE HERE!" Mei called off to the two as they headed down the misty path.

* * *

**Jutsu/Translation List:**

**Muon Satsujin Jutsu: Soundless Silent Killing: The user silently kills the enemy from behind. **

**Futton: Kōmu no Jutsu: Boiled Release: Skilled Mist technique: Mei sendsout a mist with extreme corrosive properties that can even melt Susanoo's bones. This is a Boil kekkai genkai, and it uses Fire and Water chakra. **

**Suiton: Bakusui Shōha: Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave: The user spits a great volume of water from their mouth, swallowing and crushing the enemy. The amount of chakra depends on how much water is used, and the user can even ride the wave. **

**Suiton: Suijkinhei: Water Release: Water Encampment Wall: A defensive technique where the user creates a wall of water and can manipulate it. **

**Makyō Hyōshō: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals: A ice release move that creates a dome of 21 mirrors that traps the enemy. The user can enter the mirrors. **

**Fūton: Kamikaze: Wind Release: Divine Wind: The user sends out a gust of wind that forms several small tornadoes. **

******Fūton: Wind.**

******Suiton: Suiryūben: Water Release: Water Dragon Whip: A orb made of water is created, and many sharp whips of water are controlled by the user, but this technique requires a lot of concentration. **

******Hyōten Hyakkasō: _Frozen Heaven Hundred Flower Funeral: _A original technique where Haku creates several ice spikes that impale the foe, she then immobilizes the enemy with senbon, and then the enemy is caught within a pillar of ice, and it appears as if ice flowers are within. Based off of Toshiro Hitsuagaya's ********Hyōten Hyakkasō.**

**************Hemerosusonīdo:_Sound Twins: The usage of adding another step to Sonido to appear as if there were clones of the user. Made by _ Zommari Rureaux, 7th Espada.**

**************Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu: Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique: The user compresses a large amount of chakra built up inside their body and changes it into a dragon head-shaped fireball. The user then skilfully manipulates that great fire, and attacks their opponent. Even outside of the attack range, its power and reliability are stressed. The flames have a high temperature. **

* * *

**END OF CHAPTER 4: A NEW DAWN, A NEW HOPE!**

**IM SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SORRY FOR KILLING CHOJURO OFF! DONT KILL ME! *COWERS AWAY IN FEAR***

**How was it? THIS CHAPTER WAS 77 GODDAMNED PAGES LONG IN THE MICROSOFT WORD! **

**PLEASE VOTE ON MY PROFILE ON WHICH GRILS SHOULD BE IN HARRIBEL'S NEW FRACCIÓN!**

_**PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE REVIEW! 3,000 fucking hits and 11 reviews is just sad! **_

'**Till next time,**

**~ Zantana ~ **


	5. The Secret of Amegakure

**Hey guys…I'm back again… **

**Sorry for not updating sooner. I had my band camp's concert to prepare for, a soccer scrimmage tournament, etc. **

**I knew this would happen eventually, but this time I was caught off guard and now I pissed. **

**I'm extremely pissed off by a couple of reviews I have received in the past weeks. Two were anonymous, but one person actually had the decency to sign in. All three reviews said about the same thing: This story will have a trashy ending like the others; your story is just as retarded, etc. The one thing similar is that all of these reviews were judged on the first goddamned chapter! **

**Excuse me…..? Did you EVEN READ the rest of the chapters? Don't judge from the first chapter of any story, the first chapter of any story could be a piece of shit, but the rest of the story could be completely original! You do have a point, I am wasting my time, but this I WANT to do, and how the hell am I bashing? I just fucking said that one bit was overused! JUST BECAUSE YOU DON'T LIKE IT, IT DOESN'T MEAN OTHERS DON'T LIKE IT! THE ONLY REASON I'M CONTINUING IS FOR THE FANS! SO FUCK OFF! AND TECHNICALLY, YOU ARE THE NOOBS BASHING ME (AS ONE REVIEWER CALLED ME A NOOB!) **

**I'm glad for moderating anonymous reviews, and I immediately disapproved the anonymous reviews. I WILL NOT allow Flames on this story, so if you don't like it you can just FUCK OFF! **

**Thanks to those who like and support this story, sorry that you all had to see that little rant of mine…-_-….**

**The poll for Harribel's Fracción is over, and I'm shocked by the results. The winners shall be revealed in due time, but the top nominee debuts in this chapter. **

**iRpervy: My answer was above to your review is above. I doubt you even read past the first chapter though, so who are you to judge!?**

**Miss Lizzy-Chan: Thanks! ^.^**

**Malix2: Thanks! **

**TheBlackSeaReaper: Thanks for the continued support! ^.^ **

**Last time on Retribution, Harribel and Ggio fought in the final battle for Kirigakure's independence, but the loss of Chōjūrō remained in their hearts. Mei requested Ggio and Harribel to investigate Amegakure due to suspicions, and that is where our protagonists are heading to now. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_This world will never be what I expected_

_And if I don't belong who would have guessed it_

_I will not leave alone everything that I own_

_To make you feel like it's not too late, it's never too late_

_Even if I say it'll be alright_

_Still I hear you say you want to end your life_

_Now and again we try to just stay alive_

_Maybe we'll turn it around 'cause it's not too late_

_It's never too late_

_No one will ever see this side reflected_

_And if there's something wrong who would have guessed it?_

_And I have left alone everything that I own_

_To make you feel like it's not too late, it's never too late_

_Even if I say it'll be alright_

_Still I hear you say you want to end your life_

_Now and again we try to just stay alive_

_Maybe we'll turn it around 'cause it's not too late_

_It's never too late_

_The world we knew won't come back_

_The time we've lost can't get back_

_The life we had won't be ours again_

_This world will never be what I expected_

_And if I don't belong_

_Even if I say it'll be alright_

_Still I hear you say you want to end your life_

_Now and again we try to just stay alive_

_Maybe we'll turn it around 'cause it's not too late_

_It's never too late_

_Maybe we'll turn it around 'cause it's not too late_

_It's never too late_

_It's not too late, it's never too late_

_~ Never too Late by Three Days Grace ~_

* * *

Border of the Land of Water ~

"What exactly is this Amegakure anyways?" Ggio asked as he and Harribel lounged under a couple of trees.

"Amegakure is the Village Hidden in the Rain. It's led by a man named Hanzō, but there is rumored to be in a civil war. It is the main battlefield for many wars, and it is an in highly industrialized village. Amegakure doesn't allow any foreign visitors, so as Mei said; it would be a good hideout for the Akatsuki." Harribel said, her eyes closed in concentration as she tried to remember all of the specific details.

"That would be rather useful, as the Akatsuki would have even more resources to use." Ggio sighed as he realized how risky this would be. "This would make this operation even harder than it already is….that is, if the Akatsuki are even there."

Harribel opened her eyes and glanced at Ggio. "What worries me is the fact that the Konohagakure refugees reside there. They wouldn't react too kindly to the Akatsuki's presence, let alone tolerate it."

"Great….another problem to deal with before the goddamned mission even starts." Ggio muttered, and he stood up and stretched. "Well, what are we sitting here for? We should get a move on already."

Harribel slowly stood up and stretched her arms, and Ggio studied her as she did this, so he immediately saw the difference in her.

'_She seems so…..reluctant. I guess this mission will hurt her mentally because she will see the others from her past….' _ With the few weeks he had spent with the Tercera Espada in this world, he had learnt to read her better than he could ever in Las Noches.

"Well, aren't we supposed to be moving?" Harribel's voice broke through Ggio's train of thought, and he jolted back into reality.

"R-Right!" He stammered as he began to use Sonìdo, and he wasn't worried if Harribel was left behind because she easily outranked him in the use of Sonìdo. He was correct, as she was right by his side instantly, and the duo raced along the countryside. Soon enough, they reached the ocean that separated the Land of Water from the rest of the Elemental countries.

"What now?" Ggio glanced at Harribel, who sighed in annoyance.

"What else? We're going to have to use the Descorrer to create a Garganta into the Land of Fire. From there, we're going to half to be cautious to reach Amegakure."

"WHAT?! The Descorrer can only be used by the Espada or elites of the arrancar forces! I don't have enough Reiatsu to create one!" Ggio protested with an irritated expression on his face.

Harribel glanced at him once more and raised an eyebrow. "Have you been away from Hueco Mundo for so long that you have forgotten a Garganta can hold more than a person?"

"Oh….right….." Ggio said with a slight blush, and he immediately looked away from the woman in embarrassment.

Harribel raised her palm, and space seemed to distort as she pushed her Reiatsu into the empty space. Slowly, the empty space in front of them opened up, and the empty black Garganta was right in front of them. Ggio and Harribel stepped into the Garganta, and the void closed. When it opened, the sight of trees welcomed them in.

"Back here again….." Ggio muttered as he stepped out of the Garganta wearily, eyeing his surroundings disdainfully.

"We would have needed to go through the Land of Fire eventually; the process was just sped up." Harribel stated as she brushed some dirt off of her hakama pants. "Let's go before Leaf ninja find us out here."

"Right….that would be rather bad, wouldn't it?" Silence was met with his question, and he sighed at her lack of response.

* * *

~ About 40 Miles from Amegakure ~

"Whoa…..that's a rather odd scenario….." Ggio muttered as he stared at the rain that seem to start in Amegakure territory, and then he glanced at the seemingly magical border that the rain didn't even touch.

"It is said Amegakure was named for its endless storm…" Harribel muttered as she stared at the rain suspiciously. The rain almost felt like it had just the smallest portion of chakra in it, but she could have just been imagining this. But she still couldn't shake that feeling as she observed the clouds.

"What are we waiting here for? Let's get a move on!" Ggio said as he stepped into the rain shower. Harribel silently followed after, but she still had that feeling, but stronger this time as the rain beat down on them.

* * *

~ Center of Amegakure: Pein's Tower ~

Ringed eyes snapped open as Pein felt two new presences enter Amegakure. Konan noticed this, and her worried amber eyes bored into Pein's back.

"Nagato…..what's wrong?" She questioned with genuine care, and her amber eyes shown with warmth and concern.

"Two signatures have appeared in the outskirts. They seem strong…..I estimate high A rank level and a low A rank….." He pondered out loud, and Konan sighed.

"I'll take care of them." She promised as she began to split into pieces of paper. Pein quickly stopped the rain as she did this, as he didn't want his beloved comrade's jutsu to not work as well, even though rain did not affect the jutsu at all.

The pieces of paper then turned into butterflies, and then they flew off into the intruders' direction.

"Be careful….Konan….." Pein muttered to himself as he stared worriedly in the direction Konan had gone off into. He had that feeling of an impeding disaster in his gut, but he shook it off as just his worry for his beloved Konan.

Oh how wrong Nagato was to brush that feeling off.

* * *

~ With Harribel and Ggio ~

'_The rain just….stopped…..? Something's not right here….' _Harribel's eyes narrowed as she glanced at their surroundings. That's when she saw a single paper sheet that was formed into a butterfly. '_We're being watched…..but how do I warn Ggio…?' _ Harribel pondered as she watched the paper butterflies that seemed to be everywhere now. Suddenly, all the butterflies flew away. Harribel's eyes widened when she realized what that meant.

"Ggio!" She said sharply, and her stare bored into his back.

"What?" He turned around slowly with a confused expression, which went even more confused when he saw the slight panic in the visible parts of Harribel's face.

"The rain was a sensory jutsu! Their Kage knows we're here, and a spy just gave our location!" Harribel was worried, as she knew the both of them were officially screwed if they were to go against a Kage level ninja with just them.

"Shit!" Ggio swore as he looked around quickly. "This way!" He pointed to a back ally that seemed to lead onto a busy street.

The duo raced into the back ally, and all that led them to be was the central market of Amegakure. Harribel's eyes widened as she saw a familiar group of figures walking towards them.

Shikamaru looked the same, but he now sported a slashed Konoha hitai-ate and the Chūnin vest.

Ino now wore a purple sleeveless blouse that revealed her stomach, a purple skirt with black shorts and fishnet underneath, and fishnet on her elbows and knees.

Neji still wore a Hyūga style outfit, but he now wore just a plain black headband around his forehead where the Cursed Seal of the Hyūga clan was.

Shino still covered most of his body, but now he had his head covered as well, and his Konoha hitai-ate was removed from his attire as well.

Tenten still looked the same, but now she had a huge scroll strapped to her back.

Harribel looked away; the memories were still painful to even remember. Ggio glanced at her, and he could easily tell these were her former friends. He put a hand on her shoulder, but the duo glanced towards a commotion going on.

* * *

~ Pein's Tower ~

"The intruders are unknown, but from Deidara's and Sasori's report, these two match the descriptions." Konan stated to Jiraiya and Pein, who had his ringed eyes narrowed.

"We're going to need to flush them out." Jiraiya stated after a brief moment of silence.

"They're in the marketplace now." Pein stated as he walked onto his perch that showed the entire city.

"That's them." Konan pointed to two figures wearing white and black. Pein narrowed his eyes, the ryoka's clothing almost made them stand out.

"They sure want to look different." Jiraiya chuckled as he studied the two ryoka. One had black hair that was put into two braids, and their seemed to be some type of mask on his head. The other was a woman, and she wore a jacket that covered her mouth, and she had blonde hair that was short and braided into three locks.

"Let's go." Pein stated as he prepared to jump off of the perch, and Konan and Jiraiya followed after him. The hunt for the ryoka was on.

* * *

~ With Harribel and Ggio ~

"IT'S LORD PEIN! LADY KONAN! JIRAIYA-SAMA!" The cheers and shouts resonated throughout the city. Harribel and Ggio glanced at each other in alarm. These must have been the leaders of the village.

"Shit!" Harribel swore, and Ggio looked at her in shock. He never heard her swear before. "Those three are the heads of the city, no doubt. Jiraiya's a Sannin, so we're in for a tough fight."

"Let's move then!" A panicking Ggio stated, and the duo began to run.

Jiraiya, Pein, and Konan pursued them, but the duo was hiding their Reiatsu signatures so they couldn't be tracked as easily. The citizens of Amegakure were obviously confused on why their leaders were running through the streets, but most ignored these strange actions.

"I think we lost them." Harribel muttered as she used Pesquisa to determine any enemies' location. "Ggio! Behind you!"

Ggio whipped out his Zanpakutō to block a katana aimed for his throat.

"Look at what the cat has brought up here." Ggio's grin was feral as he clashed swords once more with the ANBU with the cat mask. Harribel watched from the shadows as she observed the ANBU. She had purple hair that straight and long, a cat mask, and she wore the standard Konohagakure uniform. Harribel could easily recognize her as the kenjutsu expert Yūgao Uzuki of the Hidden Leaf.

Yūgao managed to catch Ggio off guard with a false move, and she swiped across his chest.

"What the hell….?" She muttered when her sword merely bounced off of Ggio's hardened skin.

"You're not strong enough even to cut through my Hierro. It's pointless to even put up a fight against me." Ggio attempted to jab her vital spot on her neck with his palm, but she dodged to the left quickly.

"I will not give up!" Yūgao shouted as she did several hand signs. Harribel lunged forward to stop her, but it was too late. A fireball shot into the sky, and anyone nearby would be alerted by the fireball.

Ggio used this moment to knock the woman unconscious, and he turned to Harribel quickly.

"We need to get out of here, and fast." He muttered as the two used Sonìdo for a quick escape. The shot through several allies and streets, but they never stopped in fear of the enemy pursuing them.

They soon reached a dead end, and as soon as they did, paper seemingly covered the only escape route.

'_It's this person again….' _Harribel thought as she used Sonìdo to escape the strips of paper attempting to cover her body.

The paper finally stopped as it came together to form the shape of a woman. The woman had amber eyes, purple hair neatly placed into a bun with an origami rose placed in front of the bun, a single labret stud was underneath her lip, but her most prominent feature was the Akatsuki cloak.

"So it's true. The Akatsuki does reside in Amegakure, as its leaders run the city." Harribel stated as she eyed the cloak with disinterest.

"I have received my orders. You both shall be killed for intruding Amegakure!" Konan declared as the paper formed wings that allowed her to actually fly. She immediately shot razor sharp paper kunai at the duo, but they dodged easily with Sonìdo.

"You both cannot escape. It is futile in the end." Konan stated as she mercilessly shot the paper kunai at the duo.

Ggio began to charge up a Cero, but that was his grave mistake. Konan immediately saw this and caught him in a whirlwind of paper.

"Shit!" Ggio swore when he noticed the explosion tags mixed in with the regular paper. Everything seemed to go white as the numerous tags went off.

"Ggio…." Harribel muttered as she worried for the man. She wouldn't admit it, but she had grown attached to the man in the short time she had known him.

"…." Konan still had her arms covering her face as she blocked the glare from the explosion.

"Don't…..count….me…..out yet….." Ggio muttered as he limped away from the site of the explosion. He collapsed on the ground, coughing up blood as he shook from the cold, hard ground.

"You are next." Konan stated as she created a paper chakram-like wheel from paper.

Harribel unsheathed Tiburón quickly, and Konan sent the paper chakram at her. She put Tiburón vertically in front of her to try to prevent the chakram from hitting her. She found herself struggling to keep her grip as she heard a whistling sound coming from behind her. She quickly glanced behind her only to see another chakram coming quickly at her.

She leaped upwards, and the paper chakrams crashed into each other with full force into each other. Harribel's eyes widened when Konan quickly sent several paper kunai in her direction, and she was forced to twist to avoid the kunai.

"Is this all you got?" Harribel taunted as she avoided another wave of paper kunai. Konan remained silent as she created several paper clones.

Harribel slashed at one of the clones, but it burst apart into paper. Harribel leaped backwards to avoid the explosion tags that shot towards her, but her hakama pants were slightly tinged black from the small explosion.

"It is over. Meet your demise." Konan said cryptically as two new presences entered the battlefield. Jiraiya and Pein had arrived.

"I truly have no foul intentions. It would be pointless to fight over something trivial like this." Harribel stated as sheathed Tiburón back into its sheath.

"You dare intrude into our village and harm the people inside of it, and then claim this as worthless?" Jiraiya stated with a raised eyebrow. "How dare you!"

Pein studied the woman in front of him, and his Rinnegan eyes narrowed. "You must have had a reason to come to this village. What is your true intent?"

Harribel's eyes narrowed as well, this man had different intentions also. It seemed as if this man…were almost lifeless; a cold, hard, walking corpse.

"And why should I tell you?" She countered back in a sharp tone.

"We hold your life and your comrade's life in risk at the moment, so I suggest that you shut the hell up and answer all of our questions." Jiraiya said, and Harribel instantly quieted. She would never risk her comrades' lives, and she would even sacrifice herself for the ones she held dear the most.

"Why did you dare intrude into Amegakure?" Pein asked again, his gaze piercing seemingly into Harribel's soul. She evenly met his gaze with her own piercing green eyes.

"The Godaime Mizukage, Lady Mei Terumī, requested I check the suspicious village of Amegakure in my travels. My curiosity was filled when the Kazekage told me the refugees from the Hidden Leaf were here."

"Basically, you came here for intel. Nothing new here." Jiraiya snorted in amusement.

"And to satisfy my curiosity." Harribel stated as she glanced at the trio before her. They didn't look too happy with her, and they probably would kill her if she didn't act soon. "You shouldn't kill the innocent."

"You're innocent?" Jiraiya scoffed as he eyed her attire. Harribel noticed with a slightly raised eyebrow that Jiraiya was eyeing her breasts with a lecherous look in his eyes.

"I came here to see the ones I used to call comrades. To see if there is hope in this war torn world and that if peace could one day be sought after in the hearts of the people." Konan studied Harribel closely, but everything about her seemed to scream that she was genuine with her words.

"I believe her." Konan's voice broke through the silence, and everyone's gaze shifted to her. Pein and Jiraiya seemed to contemplate this for a moment, glanced at each other, and then gave a brief nod.

"All right then…." An uncertain Jiraiya muttered as he turned to leave.

"May I ask something….?" Harribel questioned the leader of Amegakure and Akatsuki.

"What is it….?" Pein's eye narrowed, he didn't like where this was going.

"Why was Akatsuki founded? Why are you using these powerful shinobi?"

"That is not a question to be answered in the open." Pein sighed as he motioned for the trio to follow him. Harribel picked Ggio's unconscious body up, and Konan burst into paper sheets.

* * *

~ Amegakure: God's Tower ~

Harribel slowly sank back into her seat. Ggio had woken up halfway to the tower, and he immediately started blushing because Harribel was carrying him.

One by one the members of the Akatsuki filed in by Pein and Konan's orders. Harribel recognized Sasori and Deidara, and they didn't seem too pleased to see Ggio and Harribel.

The next to come in were Kisame and Itachi, and they entered silently and swiftly. But Harribel could notice Itachi's suspicious gaze shift to her every so often.

A plant like man had entered through the floor, and Ggio shot up gripping his Zanpakutō at the new presence. One glare from Harribel got him to sit back down immediately.

The final ones to enter were a silver haired man with an open cloak and another man who had stitches all over his body.

Once everyone was seated, Pein opened his mouth to speak, but Deidara beat him to the chase.

"Why the hell are these two here, un?" His single visible eye was narrowed to a slit.

Pein's annoyance was visible in his eyes, but his face remained emotionless. He opened his mouth to reprimand Deidara, but Sasori beat him to the chase this time.

"Gaki. Shut the hell up." The impatient man was evidently annoyed, but all he did was anger Pein even further.

"I suggest all of you **shut the hell up before you piss leader-sama **more than he already is." Zetsu's halves spoke up, and the bickering artists quickly glanced at their leader's face to see a single orange eyebrow twitching with irritation.

"Sorry Leader-sama (un)!" The duo chorused in unison, causing them to glare at each other, but another glare from Pein made them make sure that they kept their mouths shut.

"Anyways, I have called this meeting for a very important reason." Pein began to speak, but this time Hidan cut in his opinion.

"Is it for these bitches?" Pein's eyebrow twitched once again, but this time he kept his rage within.

"Yes Hidan, it somewhat is. And I would like to reveal what I truly have been preparing you all for."

"What the hell do you mean by preparing us for?" Kakuzu's gruff voice cut in, and he had an eyebrow raised, or at least he appeared to have a eyebrow raised.

"Akatsuki was originally created as a group fighting for peace in Amegakure. The former leader of Amegakure, Hanzō, saw the Akatsuki as a threat and ordered its annihilation. The leader at the time, Yahiko, was killed, but Konan and I were the only survivors of the original Akatsuki. I let my hatred take the best of me and killed Hanzō after organizing a rebellion." Konan could be seen with her eyes closed in remembrance, and a small sob was heard from her at memory of her former crush's death.

"What does this have to do with anything?" Kisame asked, he was obviously irritated at the sudden meeting.

"One day, a man who claimed to be Madara Uchiha asked me for the Akatsuki's aid. I refused after I realized his true intentions. This man who went under the alias of Tobi, wanted to take over the shinobi world with the usage of the tailed beast and the moon."

"How exactly would that be possible?" Harribel spoke up with a raised eyebrow, and her curiosity was to the extremes by this point.

"I can answer that!" Jiraiya causally walked into the room as if there weren't 9 S-rank criminals residing in it. "Long ago, there was a legend that the tailed beasts were originally one tailed beast known as the Jūbi. The Rikudō Sennin originally split its chakra into the tailed beasts we know today. The beast's body was sealed into the moon, and this Tobi could probably control every single person with a Genjutsu if he had the power of the Jūbi."

Ggio let out an impressed whistle. "I didn't get the half of what you said, but damn, you all are screwed if this happens."

"What about you? You live here too, so you would be affected as well." Sasori spoke up, and his eyes were narrowed, well as narrow as a puppet could allow.

"We aren't from he-" Ggio began to say, but Harribel's hand muffled the rest of what he was going to say.

"What do you mean by that?" Pein looked tense, as if he were preparing for a fight, and the rest of the room mirrored his tenseness.

Harribel sighed; the cat was let out of the bag. Again. She slowly said,

"What do you all believe in the afterlife?"

Hidan scoffed, "You go to Lord Jashin, obviously."

Kakuzu smacked Hidan from the back of his head. "Hidan, shut the hell up."

"There is some type of heaven, which what most believe." Pein said with his arms folded across his chest.

Harribel sighed; this was going to make it harder. "Once one dies, they become what are called a Plus. The protector of the afterlife are called the Shinigami, gets to the soul in time, they live in what is called heaven, or the Soul Society. The Shinigami are split up into squads, led by the Taichō known as the strongest of the squads. There is one Sō-Taichō."

"You said if a Shinigami gets to the Plus in time. What if they don't get there in time?" Itachi spoke up, his face emotionless, but his eyes showed intrigue.

Harribel closed her eyes, as did Ggio. "The soul lingers for too long, and it becomes what is known as a Hollow. Hollows remain in the sands of Hueco Mundo, and they feed on any other souls to survive and evolve."  
"You two were…are….hollows, aren't you?" Jiraiya said, his face set into a frown.

"You're right, and it was damn horrible." Ggio spoke up, his eyes seemingly lighting on fire.

"How did you end up here then?" Konan asked, her eyes wide in realization that she would reunite with Yahiko one day.

"Another long story. A twisted Shinigami known as Aizen wanted an army to overthrow the Sereitei. He made hollows with human and Shinigami like abilities, and they were known as Arrancar. The top ten strongest Arrancar were known as the Espada, and they had a tattoo of their number somewhere on their body." Harribel stopped talking and slowly reached for her zipper. Everyone seemed to lean forward as the jacket came undone.

Gasps filled the room as they glimpsed the mask covering the bottom half of her face, but the attention soon focused on the 3 tattoo on her right breast. Or in Jiraiya's case, he was storing this information away for later usage with a lecherous grin.

"I was a pawn for Aizen." Harribel spoke slowly. "I went with my loyal Fracción, no my sisters, to confront the Shinigami. I soon locked into combat with the Taichō known as Tōshirō Hitsugaya, and my Fracción fell in combat with the Sō-Taichō himself. After the first and second rank Espada fell, Aizen found my existence useless and terminated me. And then I end up in this world once more."

"What do you mean, 'once more'?" Jiraiya was the one who said this, and you could see he was getting suspicious.

"I once was a boy with dreams and a broken heart in this world. He died by his village's hatred of what he was." Harribel made sure she didn't give out the name, as she figured the three that knew of the name Naruto Uzumaki already put the pieces together.

"No way….Gaki, is that truly you….?" Kisame spoke, his beady eyes gone wide. Itachi's stare on her deepened, and Jiraiya had even started to cry a little bit.

"I was once the container of the Kyūbi, Naruto Uzumaki."  
Pein sighed, "So you're the former Jinchūriki, the one executed by the puppet Hokage."

"Hai." Harribel confirmed with a emotionless face.

"Look what you have become, gaki! Such a full body!" Jiraiya had that same lecherous grin, but this time Ggio reacted.

"Don't talk about Halibel-chan like that!"

Jiraiya's grin grew larger when he heard this; the smaller gaki had a crush it seemed.

"I must inform Lady Mizukage about this information then. Kirigakure will become allies with Amegakure."

"Lady Mizukage?" Kisame asked with a wide grin, his shark-like teeth gleaming in the light of the room.

"There was a recent final battle for the right of Kirigakure. We," Harribel motioned to herself and Ggio, "were commanders of our own squad. The commanders, Mei Terumī, Haku Yuki, Ameyuri Ringo, Chōjūrō, Utakata of the Rokubi, and Ao."

"Interesting." Was all Sasori said as he leaned back into his chair with his arms crossed.

"There was one casualty. Chōjūrō was killed in action. Mei Terumī was named Mizukage right after the rebellion."

"And you apparently have deep connections with her?" Pein continued the interrogation.

"She was the one who asked us to investigate Amegakure." Harribel's response was vague, but still satisfying.

"Send a message to her." Pein said, it would be helpful to have a Hidden Village in an alliance, and it would allow access to more resources.

"Already did." Was the vague response he got back.

Pein didn't question when or how; when it came to this strange duo he didn't want to ask why. His eyes narrowed when a new presence entered Amegakure: Madara.

"We have an intruder. Madara has finally made his move. But first, we have a traitor to deal with." Pein brought an arm up and Zetsu shot towards him. He crushed Zetsu's throat, but it was apparently a clone of the plant-like man.

"What a coward." Hidan sneered.

"You're one to talk." Kakuzu shot back in an irritated tone.

"Both of you shut up." Sasori hissed, and his eyes were narrowed to slits.

"Pein." Konan's voice broke through the arguments, and everyone's attention diverted to her. "I shall hold him back."

"Konan-" Pein began, but it was too late, Konan had already split into her Shikigami no Mai technique.

"Be careful…." He whispered as the paper butterflies flew away. "Sasori, Deidara, provide backup for Konan through aerial techniques that you have, Deidara."

"Hai (un)!" The two chanted in unison, and they jumped off of Pein's perch.

"Itachi, Kisame, Hidan, Kakuzu, stay here and guard the city." The four silently left, and Jiraiya had left more likely to warn the Amegakure shinobi.

"Let's see how this turns out." Harribel whispered to Ggio, and they left via Sonìdo, and Pein was left alone in the room.

* * *

~ With Konan ~

'_I must protect the hope of our future….'_ Konan thought as her paper butterflies whizzed to the spot Madara was waiting at: the waterway.

She smiled sadly as memories from her past came up to the surface; memories she had thought she had buried deep away.

* * *

_~ Flashback: Outskirts of Amegakure ~ _

"_Mate Yahiko!" Nagato called out as the trio raced down the muddy path to their home with Jiraiya. Yahiko was racing faster than Yahiko and Nagato. _

"_Mate!" Konan happily yelled as she raced after Yahiko. _

"_I'm first!" Yahiko called back as he ran even faster to reach the small cabin. He threw open the door and let out a scream of shock when he saw what was in the cabin. _

_Konan and Nagato shared a worried look, and then unanimously looked inside of the cabin before letting a shriek of shock themselves. Yahiko just sat there shaking and pointing while he stared at the giant toad sitting in their home. _

"_It's a toad, a toad! A giant toad!" Yahiko exclaimed as he stared at it. _

"_How'd it get inside of our hideout?" A now worried Konan had asked. _

"_What'll we do….?" Nagato muttered, his eyes trained on the giant 'toad'. _

"_You're so noisy! What's this entire ruckus about?" The toad was revealed to Jiraiya. _

"_JIRAIYA-SENSEI?!" Yahiko exclaimed in shock. _

"_Well, does this look good on me?" Jiraiya motioned to the costume, and an uncertain Yahiko answered,_

"_Now that you mention it, it guess so….." _

_The trio had then burst out into laughter, and Jiraiya was left out in the dark on what they were laughing at._

_~ End of Flashback ~_

* * *

Konan let out another small smile, that moment was one of the last times before Jiraiya had left that the Ame Orphans laughed as hard as that.

The waterway was now in view, and she could easily spot the bright orange mask standing on a metal platform.

The paper came together to form Konan on another platform, and Madara's attention was diverted to her.

"Where is Nagato and those band of fools you call an organization?" Madara asked, and Konan remained emotionless.

"You will not reach them; I will make sure of it."

"It looks like you won't cooperate and tell me where your friends are, as well as Nagato. But in the end I WILL have the Rinnegan." Madara spoke with confidence, but Konan was sure that he was underestimating her abilities greatly.

"I came here prepared to kill you, and that one day you would seek us out. I've been waiting for this day to come so I could stop you."

"I will not show mercy on you since we could have been comrades. You two agreed to join the organization with me, but you both betrayed me." Madara spoke with such arrogance and confidence it disgusted Konan greatly.

"Yahiko founded the Akatsuki. The red cloud on this cloak symbolizes the blood that rained over Amegakure from war! You are just riding on Akatsuki's coattails!" Konan motioned to Madara's cloak, and you could see his single eye narrow at her words. "These cloaks are our legacy. Furthermore, Nagato, an Amegakure shinobi, awakened the Rinnegan. And that, too, does not belong to you! His eyes are this village's…..this nation's treasure!"

Konan sent several paper shuriken in Madara's way, but with his Ninjutsu it just passed right through him.

Madara chuckled, and calmly said, "You are mistaken on two points. It's all over for you anyways, so I'm just going to tell you."

Meanwhile, up in the air, Sasori and Deidara heard every single word that was being said.

"Who is Nagato, un?" Deidara muttered, but Sasori heard him anyways.

"Gaki, we'll find out later."

"Right, Danna!"

Deidara steered the bird upwards so the duo would still be hidden.

A disgruntled Konan stared at Madara as some of her paper tuck to her ruffled hair. The next statement caused her to freeze in shock.

"I am the one who encouraged Yahiko to start the Akatsuki." Konan's glare deepened. "And I am the one who gave Nagato the Rinnegan. S0 it's only right that I want it back after he betrayed me." Madara spread his arms out in a somewhat apologetic manner. "Well, no matter. As far as I am concerned, you're just an insolent girl. Except for the fact you are the reason blocking me from obtaining my Rinnegan back. Once I capture you, I can do anything I want to do with you. Do not underestimate the visual prowess of the Uchiha, girl!" The last part was growled out, and all Madara did was succeeding in angering Konan even further.

Konan quickly shot up and formed her paper wings, and the paper surrounded Madara. When she materialized right in front of him, he grabbed her throat as he began sucking paper in. His eye widened in shock as he realized there was explosion tags mixed in with the regular paper.

"I will take you with me to the afterlife." Konan's cryptic words were all that was heard before a mighty explosion occurred.

* * *

~ Marketplace of Amegakure ~

"What was that?" Ino looked over towards the direction of the b0om sound, and you could see the worry in her eyes.

"I'll check!" Neji said as he activated his Byakugan, and the sight he saw made him gasp.

"Neji, what is it?" Tenten asked with a worried expression on her face.

"It's…..its Konan-sama fighting a masked man….is that the man we were warned about…?"

"What a drag….let's go check it out then." Shikamaru yawned as he stretched slowly.

"We probably shouldn't." Shino spoke up in a rare moment of wisdom.

"Why shouldn't we?" Ino cried out.

"If Konan-san is needed to fight this battle, then it must be a dangerous opponent above our skills." Shikamaru sighed as he realized that help was not possible.

"We'll need to wait and see. I'll keep watch." Neji offered.

* * *

~ Western Side of Amegakure ~

"That bitch must be going to the extreme if the blast was heard from here." Hidan muttered as he fingered his scythe.

Kakuzu remained silent as he counted his money for the third time in a row.

"How come Sasori and Deidara got to be her backup?" Kisame complained as he brought his hand to Samehada.

"Because they are more compatible of staying hidden and strike when the enemy is least prepared." Itachi spoke up, and everyone sighed, the man had a good point.

* * *

~ With Harribel and Ggio ~

Harribel had her palms on the ground as she used Pesquisa to see if Konan had failed.

"She's still alive." She stated as she sensed Konan's chakra signature. "But so is Madara."

"Should we help her…?" Ggio questioned as he fingered his sword eagerly.

"No. It is pointless to go into a fight that is not ours." Harribel said as she studied the two once more.

'_It's almost like an Espada match. The intent to kill, and the powerful energies…this reminds of Grimmjow's and that Ryoka's fight…no wonder Ggio is somewhat shaking at the chakra in the air...it seems so...tense...' _

* * *

~ With Konan and Madara ~

Konan coughed up some blood as she remembered her promise from long ago: to be the pillar of strength for Nagato's and Yahiko's will and dreams.

Her halfway formed body was in midair, and she was panting for breath.

"I should have remembered that you are in the Akatsuki for a reason. The moment I sucked you in, you intended you take the suicidal action of blowing yourself up and to take me with you. However, you failed." Madara now only had one arm, the Akatsuki cloak was somewhat shredded, and half of his mask was broken, so his Sharingan was revealed to the world. "I sucked in the explosion itself, and I was faster, so I felt just a little of the impact. But you were spared as well. You should be grateful."

Konan's lip curled in disgust, and her eyes narrowed.

"Does this mean your secret strategy is over so soon?"

"Madara, let me ask you one thing." Konan whispered, but her voice was still heard by the observers.

"What is it?" Madara's arrogant voice asked, but you could hear the smirk in his voice.

"Do you know why we betrayed you in the end? Do you know why we still have faith in the people of this world?" Konan asked, the fire in her eyes lighting to the extremes.

"Well now, that's your problem." Madara uncaringly said, and he really didn't give a damn. "Nagato is chasing after an immature dream, and can easily be swayed by anyone. True hope and peace will not exist."

"I realized something when I met you. You are the darkness flowers can only wilt in a world without light!" Konan's hand materialized, and she held it straight in front of her, and her paper managed to split the entire lake into two halves.

"Holy shit…." Ggio muttered as he saw Konan's ultimate technique.

Harribel's eye widened as she saw the technique, but she said nothing.

Sasori and Deidara just gawked from at their perch high in the sky. They didn't know the true extent of the lone kunoichi's power, but now they had a glimpse of Konan's ultimate technique.

Madara started falling down the paper crevice, and he began sucking the paper in.

"I WON'T LET YOU GET AWAY!" Konan shouted as she willed the explosive papers to stick to Madara's body. The explosive papers went right through him, as expected.

The explosion resonated throughout the city, and Konan watched on. "Your teleportation failed. I've been paying attention for you all this time. When you suck yourself in, you materialize yourself. And it takes longer for you to suck yourself in than another person or object." Konan could still see Madara's glare as he fell deeper into the crevice.

'_Furthermore, he is only able to pass through objects for five minutes.' _The corners of Konan's lips turned up as she saw his expression when he noticed the paper crevasse was entirely made of explosion tags.

"I amassed 600 hundred billion Paper Bombs in order to kill you here. And they will continue to explode for 10 minutes!" Konan brought her hand down, and all of the explosion tags went off at the same time.

"Danna! Hold on tightly, un!" Deidara shouted to his partner as they quickly shot downwards to avoid being in the blast radius.

"Halibel-sama!" Ggio called out as the smoke enveloped them.

"I'm right here." Harribel said as she didn't bother covering her eyes from the wind and smoke barreling towards them. She anxiously watched as her three braids swung wildly at her mask.

* * *

~ Western Amegakure ~

"What the hell is happening….?" Hidan muttered as the quartet leaped towards to rooftops.

"Holy hell….." Kisame gawked as he saw the crevasse.

Kakuzu and Itachi stared at the paper crevasse in silence, but they now had new respect for the lone Akatsuki kunoichi on new levels.

* * *

~ Marketplace ~

"Neji…what's happening….?" A scared Tenten asked as civilians and shinobi stopped and stared at the continuous explosion.

"Konan-sama created a crevasse out of paper…and it was entirely made out of explosion tags…" A shocked Neji told his comrades, and the shinobi and civilians alike started cheering for the Angel of Amegakure.

* * *

~ 10 minutes later ~

Konan dropped to the water as the crevasse closed up. Madara's words about Yahiko and Nagato still haunted her, and an inner turmoil stirred within her. Was this the truth, or was Madara lying?

'_Both Nagato and Yahiko followed their own free wills.' _Konan tried to convince herself, but Madara's words still came back to her. Yahiko's death surfaced to her thoughts, but she shook her head trying to forget that memory. '_Yahiko died following his own belief, and Nagato is following what his heart is telling him to do.' _

Konan panted as she felt what was left of her chakra; it was dangerously low, that was not good.

"I didn't expect it to use so much chakra." Konan whispered as her origami rose fell apart. "At least…Madara is…."

"Dead?" Madara's voice came from behind her, and she felt a searing pain go through her middle as he eyes widened. She looked down to see a rusty pipe going through her middle, and it was bloodstained with her blood.

"Ho….w….? You should…be….dead…." Konan whispered as she felt the warm blood trickle down her chin and into the water. "I ran the simulations over and over again. I was sure this sequence would work…" Konan stared at the blood dripping from the pipe and she began to feel weak.

"I was forced to resort to the Izanagi. In exchange for a losing the sight in the eye that uses it, the user can tie the illusion and reality together. It's a forbidden jutsu of the Uchiha clan, and few can even use it. Only those who possess the powers of the Uchiha and the Senju can use this forbidden jutsu!"

"Uchiha and Senju…? Both powers….?" Konan pondered as she realized the truth behind Madara. "But….But that's the power of the Rikudō Sennin….You….do not have that power…."

"Since were once a dear and former comrade, I will tell you a little about myself and my jutsu. The Izanagi is simply for the practical application of what you already know as the Rikudō Sennin's creation of all things. Originally, the Uchiha and the Senju were one of the same. The Rikudō Sennin was their founder and he passed his blood and power to the two. He also created many things. He used the power of Light and Dark styles to create the tailed beasts from the Jūbi's chakra. The incarnation of imagination into life, that is the Izanagi."

"Just who are you…? You claim to Madara Uchiha, but the information begs….to differ…." Konan whispered as she eyed the man behind her.

"The world knows Uchiha Madara was the one who lost to Hashirama Senju. However, what is the real truth? The victor is the one who can gaze into the future. The real challenge begins from now. The previous battle was merely to obtain his power. I am Uchiha Madara and I possess the power of Hashirama Senju!" Madara declared as his single eye glared at Konan. Konan pried herself from the pipe and clutched her wound as she walked a few shaky steps forward.

"There is no such thing as true peace!" Madara shouted after her. "There is no such thing as hope!"

Konan looked upwards as she felt the rain coming to a stop.

'_Nagato….you really are watching out for me….' _

"Yahiko! Nagato! Your dreams and will shall not be extinguished! I believe the Akatsuki will bring hope! We ARE THE BRIDGE TO PEACE!" Konan threw her hands up into the air, and a rainbow had appeared in the sky, and her paper fluttered around her. "AND I SHALL BE A PILLAR FOR THEM!"

'_Arigato, Nagato. Your actions have made my will and dreams come back to me as well as yours!' _Konan's paper formed a paper chakram, and she sent it in Madara's way. "I am expendable, a mere flower! I SHALL TAKE YOU WITH ME!"

Madara charged, but Konan sent the paper chakram hurtling towards him with a cry of fury. He spun and dodged, but the chakram looped around towards him again, and Konan sent another chakram straight at him so he was unable to continue forward.

Konan covered her face from the impact, and looked up to see Madara in the air with the pipe in his hand. She sent several rounds of paper shuriken towards him, but he blocked it all with the pipe.

She saw her life flash before her eyes, and she remembered every single important event.

Jiraiya in the frog suit, the Ame Orphans' laughter, her and Yahiko leaning in for that one almost kiss. Watching Jiraiya leave, learning the meaning behind the Hop-in cards, her, Nagato, and Yahiko in their old Akatsuki fighting days. Finally, she saw Yahiko impaling himself on Nagato's kunai on that fateful day and her scream of terror at seeing her love do that.

Konan closed her eyes, it was her time to leave this world and she knew it. Nagato was strong, and he could make the dream the Ame Orphans valued so much become a reality.

"DEIDARA! NOW!" She faintly heard Sasori call out,she opened her eyes quickly, and several clay birds shot towards Madara. Madara quickly swung his pipe to avoid the senbon Sasori sent his way, and also had to maneuver so that he avoided Ggio's sword swing.

Harribel came from above and attempted to crash Tiburón onto his skull, but he materialized so that he would flee Amegakure altogether.

"What a fucking coward." Ggio scowled as he sheathed Tigre Estoque in one fluid motion.

"We need to get Konan to Kakuzu, un!" Deidara called out as he examined Konan, who had now collapsed from exhaustion.

"Let's go!" Deidara and Sasori jumped onto his bird while Ggio and Harribel used Sonìdo to get back into the tower.

* * *

~ Amegakure: Pein's Tower ~

Pein held Konan's hand gingerly as she slept. Konan was now in a comatose state, and it was his entire fault.

The rest of the Akatsuki stood solemnly behind him, and no one dared to speak. Jiraiya stood in the corner, and his eyes could be seen closed mournfully.

Pein felt three new presences enter Amegakure, but he didn't care until they were outside his door. A sharp knock came, and he called out, "Come in."

The women entered all who Kirigakure hitai-ates, except the one with the Mizukage hat, entered the room.

"Mei-sama." Harribel bowed at the woman, and a reluctant Ggio did as well.

"I came after I got the letter. Is what Halibel told me true?" Mei's gaze flickered to the Akatsuki, and Pein nodded.

"It all is true. What brings you here?"

Mei sighed, and Haku and Ameyuri shifted uncomfortably behind the Mizukage.

"Apparently this Tobi has gone too far. The Raikage has called a Kage Summit in the Land of Iron after the kidnapping of his brother, who was a Jinchūriki. War may be on the horizon, and it does not look good for the Akatsuki."

* * *

_Translations_:

_Mate: Japanese romanji for "wait"_

_Shikigami no Mai: Dance of the Shikigami: Using her high origami and ninjutsu skills, Konan can turn her body and clothing into many sheets of paper. She can control and reshape even parts of her body with sheets at will, making such forms as weapons for attack, butterflies for spying, paper airplanes for quick transport, or simply covering her enemy in sheets of paper, restricting and asphyxiating them. She is also capable of hovering while in her paper form._

_Gaki: Japanese word for "Brat"_

_Danna: Japanese word for "husband" or "master"._

* * *

**End of Chapter 5: Amegakure's Secret**

**How was this chapter? Please review and tell me! The first reviewer to guess the first winner of Harribel's Fraccion made her grand debut this chapter! First reviewer to guess correctly shall win virtual cookies! Cause who doesn't like cookies?! **

**First person to guess all three winners correctly wins as many cookies as the world can have xD! **

**Merh...my favorite chapter so far, but now I have to plan out how the other members of ****Harribel's Fraccion shall join. I figured out one, but the other will be complicated because...well...she wouldn't abandon her village so easily *HINT HINT*, and recent manga events are ruining my ideas. **

**Konan is my favorite character, so I don't have the heart to kill her off so soon. **

**Here are my hints for the other two members of Harribel's Fraccion: **

**Member #2: **

کریستال صدا

**Member #3: **

Лава рок

**Kage Summit is coming up! What shall happen? **

**Goin' on a cruise….with no Internet connection -_- that sucks….. Don't expect an update soon. **

**Till Next Time**

** ~ Zantana ~ **


	6. Harribel's Inner Turmoil, Ggio's Sorrow

**Sorry for the long wait. I was extremely busy since the start of school has begun once more, and now I'm like swamped with homework. And I have travel soccer tournaments and games every weekend, and 2-3 hours practices to 9 p.m. at night as well. **

**HOLYSHITHOLYSHITHOLYSHITHOLY SHIT! **

**TOBI'S IDENTITY WAS REVEALED IN THE LATEST CHAPTER! I KNEW IT! I WAS FUCKING RIGHT! **

_**PLEASE READ THIS! PS: THIS IS A FILLER CHAPTER, SO IT'S SHORTER THAN USUAL. THIS ONE DEALS MORE WITH INFORMATION, SO THERE IS LITTLE ACTION THIS CHAPTER…..MORE LIKE NO ACTION! **_

_**Oh my God….I was crying while I typed this little message. On August 27**__**th**__**, my first day of school occurred. It was a normal day until an announcement came over my school's intercom. We were told to stay inside the building and to not leave. Most of my classmates laughed it off, but I was worried. Even my teacher was making jokes about the announcement, that's how much they broadcasted it over the intercom. Later on that day, during Mod 9 out of 10 mods, the students were informed of what was happened. We were told a "terrible incident" occurred at the high school down the street. I was immediately worried, as my sister went to that school. As I was about to leave later that day, a friend told me about what really happened: a student had brought a gun to school, and one person was shot. I ran home, and found out what had happened from my sister and mother. My sister and her friends were sitting just a few tables away from the incident, which occurred in the cafeteria, and her friends and she had fled the scene screaming in terror. They never realized what had happened until they heard the screaming, and they had assumed a bag had popped until they saw students ducking under tables. The one person injured was in critical condition, but later the night of the shooting, he pulled into a stable condition. He's now at home safely. The school had been evacuated after students screamed down the halls that someone was shot in terror, and immediate lockdown had occurred in the area. **_

_**For those who think the victim of the crime was a bully, you are extremely wrong. The victim always had a bright smile on his face, cheering up those around him, even though he had Down syndrome. **_

_**Life's fragile, so enjoy while you can. You never know when this could happen, when someone could snap, so live every moment as your last. The teachers on the scene were heroic, and they saved many lives that day. The shooter still had 19 more bullets, and planned to take many lives and then commit suicide right after. **_

_**People say to up security to prevent these type of events, but it's not the place, it's the person. **_

**Impstar: They were suppressing their power levels. Harribel did so because if Ame shinobi caught notice, they would come to the fight and outnumber her and Ggio even further. Konan did so that Pein and Jiraiya would get there, and other outside influences (the rest of Akatsuki, Ame shinobi, etc.) didn't interfere as well. Yeah, I've seen a lot of stories as well where Konan wasn't depicted as powerful as she really is, so I'm giving a time to shine being one of my favorite characters. **

**TaiOokamiYoukai: Lucky! I wish they would come to a convention near my hometown…..So I'm stuck with the YouTube videos. :/ Now ya know he does Sasori's voice! ^.^ Seems like he's like nearly in every anime these days…O.O **

**Miss Lizzy-chan: Thanks! ^.^ **

**M: Took your suggestion and changed the summary. Thanks for telling me this, I probably wouldn't have realized otherwise! ^.^ **

**Maroon monster: Thanks! Maybe I should've made the hints more subtle, but good guesses! Congrats on being the first to guess right! *presents virtual cookies to you* **

**areallnamestaken232: Thanks, and all shall be revealed in due time…..*evil smirk* I've got a really good plan for Sakura… **

**Darkmachines: Thanks for the compliments! Yeah, I would've loved to bring them or anyone else from Bleach into the world of Naruto, but I think Harribel and Ggio are going to be the only ones at this point. *Sighs* Seems like most manga writers these days make all these cool characters be killed off. Like Konan's and most of the Akatsuki's and Espada's deaths. Sorry 'bout the Zetsu part, I like him too, but Madara needs his clones…:/ I'm certain Rubodon will not be in this arc, but he will appear later on. **

**TheBlackSeaReaper: Thanks! ^.^ **

**Lady Kaiki: Thanks! ^.^ **

**Here's the chapter…thought it's somewhat of a filler chapter for the being….**

**I added song references here and there try and guess the songs I did.**

* * *

_(It starts with one)_

_One thing I don't know why_

_It doesn't even matter how hard you try_

_Keep that in mind, I designed this rhyme_

_To explain in due time_

_All I know_

_Time is a valuable thing_

_Watch it fly by as the pendulum swings_

_Watch it count down to the end of the day_

_The clock ticks life away_

_It's so unreal_

_Didn't look out below_

_Watch the time go right out the window_

_Trying to hold on but didn't even know_

_Wasted it all just to_

_Watch you go_

_I kept everything inside and even though I tried, it all fell apart_

_What it meant to me will eventually be a memory of a time when I tried so hard_

_And got so far_

_But in the end_

_It doesn't even matter_

_I had to fall_

_To lose it all_

_But in the end_

_It doesn't even matter_

_One thing, I don't know why_

_It doesn't even matter how hard you try_

_Keep that in mind, I designed this rhyme_

_To remind myself how_

_I tried so hard_

_In spite of the way you were mocking me_

_Acting like I was part of your property_

_Remembering all the times you fought with me_

_I'm surprised it got so (far)_

_Things aren't the way they were before_

_You wouldn't even recognize me anymore_

_Not that you knew me back then_

_But it all comes back to me_

_In the end_

_You kept everything inside and even though I tried, it all fell apart_

_What it meant to me will eventually be a memory of a time when I tried so hard_

_And got so far_

_But in the end_

_It doesn't even matter_

_I had to fall_

_To lose it all_

_But in the end_

_It doesn't even matter_

_I've put my trust in you_

_Pushed as far as I can go_

_For all this_

_There's only one thing you should know_

_I've put my trust in you_

_Pushed as far as I can go_

_For all this_

_There's only one thing you should know_

_I tried so hard_

_And got so far_

_But in the end_

_It doesn't even matter_

_I had to fall_

_To lose it all_

_But in the end_

_It doesn't even matter._

_~ In the End by Linkin Park (A Must listen to! I suggest listening to it!) ~_

* * *

~ Amegakure: A Day Later ~

The pitter-patter of the everlasting rain was not as comforting to the villagers as it usually was.

Amegakure was raining even harder, and the villagers knew that their god was mourning at the angel's wounds. Flowers and shrines were set up around the village in honor of the fallen angel, and everyone's thoughts and prayers went to the paper angel's survival.

Akatsuki, Harribel, Ggio, and Jiraiya were all crowding around the unconscious Konan's bedside, and Pein held her hand firmly in his. Jiraiya stood against the wall with Harribel and Ggio, while the remainder of Akatsuki just awkwardly stood there.

"So…" Jiraiya seemed to speak up uncertainly, and everyone's gaze seemed to flicker to the older man. "Harribel. Ggio. What exactly are your motives in this world? Harribel, I know you were lying when you told us your supposed motive."

Ggio's golden eyes glanced over at Harribel, and his eyes were narrowed to slits.

"Yeah, I would like to know that as well." He hissed through clenched teeth as he stared the older woman down.

Harribel sighed; she hadn't expected to be found out so quickly. She turned to face the window, and she stared at the swirling storm clouds hovering above Amegakure. A small, mournful smile graced her features as she stared at the raindrops. Oh how she wished she were free instead of a pawn of fate, as free as the raindrops that wet the land around her.

"So you want to know the truth?" Harribel's icy tone cut through the silence, and she glanced around the room.

"Yes." Jiraiya spoke up, his eyes never leaving Harribel's back.

"I want redemption in this land. Greed…..hatred…it's what shapes this world. Each village wants power, and the chance to overpower each other. As long as there is hatred, there is no peace. But hatred and greed are emotions, which are what shapes a human being."  
"That doesn't explain a thing! Dammit! Harribel! Tell us the goddamned truth!" Ggio couldn't reign in his feelings any longer, and all was unleashed on the woman he loved so dearly.

Harribel turned away to look out the window again, nothing betraying her emotions. She had an inner turmoil roaring in her heart, but she couldn't tell a soul what had truly happened.

Ggio's golden eyes narrowed even further, and he let his anger consume him.

"Let it be that way." He whispered, but in the silent room it seemed to be an angry shout. Ggio stormed out of the door, and it slowly closed. No one moved or reacted; even when the loud thud the door made as it closed, because in the end it didn't even matter.

Jiraiya glanced at Harribel with slight worry. Her back was tense during the entire conversation, and she was eerily silent as she continued to stare out the window. She was hiding something big; something important. But the question was; what was she hiding that was so crucial….? He was going to get to the bottom of this.

A low groan filled the room at that exact moment, and everyone's attention was immediately diverted the makeshift hospital bed.

"Konan…" Pein murmured in amazement, his angel was waking up.

"N…..Na…gato…." Konan whispered through half lidded eyes.

From behind them Hidan shuffled closer to Kakuzu. "Who the hell's Nagato?" He muttered to his partner, but all he received back was an angry glare.

Pein gripped Konan's pale hand gently to give her reassurance. She gave him a small, but weak smile as she stared at the man she loved so dearly.

"I figured it out….." Konan mumbled as she felt her strength leaving her quickly, she knew she had to hurry before it was too late.

"Figured what out….?" Pein muttered as he leaned closer to his angel. She whispered something in his ear, and his ringed eyes widened as he tried to grasp this new information.

Konan's hand caressed Pein's face, but you could see the light dimming from her eyes. Her hand fell limply once more to her side as Pein remained motionless in his position.

Pein stared blankly at his angel, he knew he wasn't strong enough for her, and that's why she was in this situation.

Jiraiya rushed to his former student's side, and he quickly checked Konan's pulse.

"She's going to live, but she's going to remain in this comatose state until she gets the proper medical attention." Nobody dared to speak; they knew the only two people capable of fixing a problem this vast, but it would be doing the unthinkable in the process.

"The only one capable of fixing this is Tsunade, isn't it? And her bitchy apprentice?" Surprisingly, this was coming out of Kisame's mouth instead of Deidara's or Hidan's.

"Hai." Jiraiya quietly said as he stared at the cold, hard ground below him.

"We're screwed." Hidan spoke the hopeless words, and everyone's expressions seemed to mimic the feeling of despair in the room.

"There _is_ hope, ya 'know." A high pitched voice spoke up from the doorway. Standing in the doorway was none other than the former members of the Konoha 12. The one who had spoken was Ino, and her eyes lit up with hope.

"Girl, there is no hope. Tsunade is simply controlled by the war hawks of Konohagakure, such as the two honorable elders." Harribel spoke sharply to one of her former friends, and Ino flinched in response.

"I k-know…..but maybe we can have Lady Tsunade see the light of things. Ever since Naruto's and Shizune's deaths, she was broken, a mere shell of herself." Ino stated with calm determination, and you could see the fire in her eyes.

"What I would like to know is how the 6 of you managed to gain access into this building." Pein's hard face betrayed no emotion as the pierced man stared down at the 5 nin in front of him.

"6 of us….?" Tenten muttered as she grabbed a kunai from her sleeve.

"Byakugan." The famous Hyūga kekkai genkai was activated, and Neji could easily sense the final intruder. Yūgao hid outside the window ledge cautiously with her chakra concealed to not get caught easily. She flipped into the room gracefully, and she pulled her ANBU mask off warily.

"Sorry. I just couldn't help but to get information on the trespassers." Yūgao bowed to the two leaders, and the others could easily tell that she was trying not to look at the lifeless Konan.

Pein gave a short nod to this; he understood her curiosity, and that she meant no harm. It was not as if she were going to betray the village anyways.

"Continue." He gave a brief nod to Ino, who gulped under her superior's intense stare.

"W-Well…if we get Tsunade to finally restore her mentality, she might help us." Ino stammered out quickly, her voice turning high pitched towards the end.

"That would never work." A deep voice spoke up from the shadows of the room, and Itachi Uchiha stepped into the center of the room.

The former Konoha shinobi shrunk back at the sight of the elder Uchiha, as they had heard the exploits of his deeds. Not a single soul didn't know about the Uchiha Massacre, and the tragic ending of the formerly glorious clan.

"And how would this not work?!" Tenten cried out with a frustrated expression on her panda-like face.

"It's simple." Shikamaru sighed as he stretched backwards. "How the hell would we be able to talk to Tsunade, and then snap her sanity back into her? She's probably got guards…How troublesome."

"It's possible!" Ino protested her blue eyes wide in denial.

"No, you're being foolish. It would be futile to even try your outrageous idea." Neji sighed from his position leaning against the wall, his arms crossed and his pale eyes closed. Ino's mouth formed a line as one could tell she wanted to cry in failure. The former Konoha Genin exited the room, and Yūgao followed them out, but she could be seen worriedly glancing behind her at the meeting.

"Sasori, Deidara." Pein spoke up from his position, and the two glanced towards their leader. "I want you two to gather Intel on the other Kages, besides the Mizukage."

"Hai, Leader-sama." Deidara grinned as he put his hand up in a salute, but the effect was ruined by the hand mouth. He then proceeded to jump out the perch, and an indifferent Sasori jumped after him.

"Hidan, Kakuzu. You two continue to do your bounties, we're going to need as many profits as we need. And this means not keeping the money, Kakuzu." Kakuzu nodded with a sour expression on his face, and Hidan let out a "Hell yeah!" at the thought of more sacrifices. The two jumped out the window, as the door apparently was good enough anymore for usage.

"I'm guessing we're on city patrol?" Kisame sighed as he readjusted Samehada nonchalantly. Pein nodded, and Kisame sighed once more as he turned to the exit wearily. Itachi silently followed after him, but stopped when Pein put his hand on his shoulder. Red Sharingan met ringed Rinnegan, and the two seemed to talk through their eyes. Kisame never even noticed his partner gone, he was so used to the silence, so he didn't have a clue that Itachi wasn't with him.

"What do you need, Leader-sama?" He finally questioned after an intense moment of staring.

"I need to know information about a certain Uchiha." Pein's tone was sharp, and Itachi's eyes narrowed.

"Why would you need to know more on Madara? What's known is known." Itachi stated emotionlessly, his eyes blank at the thought of his ancestor.

"No, not Madara. I need to know about the Uchiha that goes by the name of Obito." Itachi's eyes narrowed even further, as far as he knew, Obito was just the clan failure that died during the Third Great Ninja War.

"Obito Uchiha…..?" He whispered as he closed his eyes slowly in memory.

* * *

_~ Flashback: Uchiha District- Third Great Ninja War ~ _

_A 4 year old Itachi ran down the halls giggling with Shisui following behind quickly. Mikoto could be seen laughing and smiling as well in the Uchiha kitchen as she watched the two young boys. She patted her pregnant stomach affectionately, and you could see the mother's pride in her swell up greatly at the sight of her eldest son. Her head sharply turned to her right as she heard a loud bang echo through their small, but comfortable home. She knew the only person who it could be: her husband. _

"_Fugaku?" She gently asked as she walked to her seemingly enraged husband. His lips were pulled into a deep scowl, and Mikoto was obviously worried about her husband. "What's wrong?"_

"_It's that fucking boy. He's a disgrace to the Uchiha clan!" Fugaku spat as he pulled off his J__ō__nin vest and headband before embracing his wife._

"_Who is this child?" Mikoto questioned innocently as she rubbed circles onto her husband's back. _

"_Obito." He whispered, and after a brief moment of silence Mikoto spoke up again. _

"_Fugaku, give him a chance. The boy is only 13, and he is still learning." Mikoto plead with her angered husband, but he remained stubborn. _

"_He had been given many chances already, Mikoto. He was late to his own graduation ceremony, and nearly failed his test by saying he had to help an elderly woman! If he does not pick up his performance in his next mission to the Kannabi Bridge, he must be taken off of the Namikaze's team! And that cursed Hatake son is on that team as well!" Fugaku ranted with clenched fists as he stared at the wall before him. _

"_You act as if Obito were your own son." Mikoto's lips were turning up; she could tell that Fugaku had genuine concern in the boy's progress. _

"_I'm worried about the reputation of the clan!" Fugaku insisted as he pulled his clan robes on, and he managed to keep a straight face as he did so, but Mikoto could read him better than that. _

"_As if." Mikoto laughed as she turned away and headed into the kitchen with a bright smile on her face._

_Fugaku chuckled lightly as he followed after his wife with a shake of his head. _

_But the two never had noticed Shisui and Itachi hiding behind the wall with huge eyes at the ninja information they had just gathered. _

_Itachi saw Obito around the Uchiha district several times. Others scoffed at him and his goggles, but in his young, naïve, four year old mind, Itachi saw the older boy as a fascinating man. He had an inner strength that kept him going no matter what people said or thought of him. _

_Itachi also had a better understanding of situations than the average four year old, and he could easily tell something had occurred when Obito's mother, an average Uchiha widow, came upon their door sobbing her heart out. _

"_My little boy! He's…..~!" She couldn't even get the full sentence out as she fell to her knees in her sorrow._

"_What happened to Obito?" Mikoto asked gently, and Itachi could be seen watching from the shadows. _

"_Obito's dead!" This seemed to be the first time she was able to get this sentence out, and Mikoto's hand flew to her mouth in her shock. _

"_I'm so sorry…." She whispered as she stared at the woman before her, while Itachi could only stare blankly at the wall before him. The boy he had so cheerfully seen around the district…..never to be seen walking around it again. No more of Fugaku complaining about the boy…..no more bright smiles in the morning, and a bright, "Hello, 'Tachi-kun!" _

_It was all gone in one mission, and it was the war's fault. _

_When Fugaku was informed of Obito's passing, he had said nothing, and life as they knew it continued until the funeral. _

_The funeral was a solemn event, and it was full of sobbing and whispers. Itachi craned his neck to see Obito's squad, and he could easily see them up front. _

_Minato Namikaze stood there grimly, and Rin and Kakashi stood on either side of him. Rin was openly sobbing while Kakashi stared at the empty casket blankly. _

_Itachi witnessed so many funerals and tears that war. He despised war from that point onwards, and dreaded to see the day the next war would come, but he knew it was inevitable in the end. _

_~ End of Flashback ~_

* * *

"Obito Uchiha. That name brings up a lot of memories." Itachi stated as he opened his normal eyes again. It had been awhile since he had his Sharingan deactivated.

"Tell me about that man." Pein demanded as he glared at Itachi intensely.

"He apparently was a Chūnin of Konohagakure, and was known through the Uchiha clan as a disgrace and a slacker to the arts. He was on squadron 14, consisting of Rin, Kakashi Hatake, and Jōnin Minato Namikaze. When he was 13, he was sent on a mission to destroy the Kannabi Bridge when Konoha was in desperate need to change the tide of war. The team succeeded, but Obito died, and he gave Kakashi his left Sharingan eye as a gift in his dying moments as he was crushed under a boulder." Itachi said, and his eyes' never left his leader's ringed eyes.

"It appears Obito Uchiha is still alive to this very day." Pein muttered as he turned to look out at Amegakure through his perch.

"How?" Itachi demanded sharply. "Eyewitnesses Kakashi and Rin saw his body being crushed by a single boulder, and then several more boulders crushed his body completely. He would have never been able to survive such a blow, nonetheless keep alive."

Pein silently gripped his angel's bedside, and he made eye contact with Itachi once more.

"Konan told me that Obito was Tobi. That's what she whispered to me, the truth behind the mask. I don't know how she even knew of Obito, but that's what she had told me." Pein sighed as he looked at Konan's pale, pained face as she lies there motionless.

"Then how would he escape? Or why would Zetsu ally himself with such a mysterious figure?" Itachi and Pein snapped their attention to the shadows of the room, where Jiraiya and Harribel stood there silently, both had forgotten that the two had never left the room.

"This is an interesting case." Jiraiya muttered as he mulled over the new information that might not even be true. "We need to hurry before Kage Summit occurs. We might have a war on our asses if we don't hurry the hell up."

"Right." Itachi nodded his agreement in, and his scarlet eyes were shown to be worried at the possibility of another war in his lifetime.

"Pein? May I ask something?" Harribel asked quietly as she eyed the Akatsuki leader.

"Yes?" Pein was still weary of the woman, but now he somewhat trusted her. She still was somewhat sketchy in her intentions, but she had a somewhat pure heart.

"Is Ggio still in Amegakure lands?" Harribel really did care for her companion, and she could even feel a bit of love at the thought of the cat like arrancar, something she never would have considered back in Hueco Mundo and Las Noches.

"No. He left a while back during our meeting." Pein could literally see something snap in Harribel, but she kept her outward emotions in check as she nodded.

Harribel wanted to nearly cry, but she wouldn't. She was the Tercera, a powerful warrior who was once a powerful Vasto Lorde, not the weak woman Grimmjow and Nnoitra depicted her to be as. Why was one man effecting in such a way, a way that never happened to her before?

She felt a hand on her shoulder, and she tensed immediately. She immediately relaxed as she realized it was just Jiraiya giving her some comfort in her loss, and he gave her a small smile of understanding in response.

"I'm going to help Kisame now. If either one of us is needed, you know how to contact us." Itachi stated as he used a Genjutsu to turn into crows- or did to the average eye- and each one left the room cawing.

Pein moved over to be next to Konan again, and he gripped her hand softly. "Oh Konan, I'm so sorry for everything. I know you despised the animal I became after Yahiko's death, but it was needed. Come back to me….please….." Pein's broken whispers echoed throughout the room, and Harribel was pulled out of her own sorrow by feeling even more sorrow for Pein.

"I'm heading off to Suna and Kiri. Possibly even Kumo if I have the time." Harribel spoke up as she uncrossed her arms to adjust Tiburón.

"You're leaving? So soon?" Jiraiya whispered as he stared at Harribel. Pein's bewilderment was visible on his face, as he was shocked at the fact Harribel wasn't staying to help.

"I need to talk to Gaara and Mei. Gaara needs to be told of what is happening, and he would be a useful ally to have in the case of war."

"But so soon….." Jiraiya repeated as he took a step closer to the woman.

"The time we have is limited. We only have so much time until Kage Summit occurs, and if we don't collect enough allies by that point we're done for." Harribel reasoned with a raised eyebrow, it seemed Jiraiya didn't want to let her go so soon.

"Go. Warn us in advance if return though. I would not like it if there are any more surprise visitors." Pein whispered, and what he said seemed to drift across the room, it was that silent besides their conversation.

Harribel only nodded as she walked to the door briskly, and she threw open the door. Ino and Tenten were revealed to be pressed up against the door, and Shikamaru, Neji, and Shino seemed to be urging them to move, while Yūgao watched with a small smile from the shadows.

"What are you doing?" Harribel stated coldly, her green eyes glaring at the two, who flinched backwards at the sight of the woman. She seemed to be covered in a killer intent from their point of view.

"We…." Tenten started to say, but she was then cut off by a sighing Neji.

"I'm sorry for Tenten's and Ino's actions. Would you please forgive us?" Neji bowed out of respect, and Harribel studied the Hyūga boy. He seemed genuinely apologetic, so there was no need to start a quarrel.

"You are forgiven." Was all Harribel stated before moving onwards to the stairway.

"Wait!" Yūgao shouted as she stepped out of the shadows, and Harribel turned towards her.

Harribel raised an eyebrow at the woman in question, and Yūgao seemed to be uncertain to tell her request.

"Let me join you on your journey. You are a powerful swordsman, and I would like to learn under your tutorship. Please let me join you!" Yūgao begged, and she kept her head bowed in fear of what Harribel's expression was.

Harribel was shocked at this sudden proposal, and she was instantly reminded of her former Fracción, but she realized. She could recreate her former comrades as much as she wanted, but they were only a memory in the end. It was never too late to start fresh again.

"I accept your proposal. We leave immediately." Harribel stated, her cold green eyes looking over the young woman in front of her, and she began walking away with Yūgao following behind loyally.

It was the start of another journey.

* * *

**End of chapter 5. **

**How was it? Please review and tell me, I would like to know. **

**I'm sorry for how short this was, but when I do filler chapters, it will be shorter than average, as it IS a filler chapter. **

**I know this will be asked, and the question would be: Why would Y****ū****gao suddenly want to travel with Harribel? **

**The answer to that is that Y****ū****gao saw an opportunity when she saw Harribel leaving alone. By leaving with Harribel, she would gain the freedom she desired for so long, while doing the swordsmanship she loves so dearly at the same time, while seeing the world at the same time. She probably never had that opportunity in Konoha or Ame, so she's taking the opportunity when it comes. **

**Rather boring chapter, but next chapter's pretty exciting, as Ggio's fate shall be revealed, as Gaara's reaction to the truth behind the Akatsuki.**

**Here's a sneak peak:  
**_Her wide eyes were seemingly blank, and she blindly thrashed about._

"_What the hell….?" He muttered to himself as he reached a hand towards the distraught woman, and she flinched backwards._

"_No! You KILLED HIM!" Her voice was slowly rising to a shriek. "Murdered him in his own cold blood!" _

"_Calm down!" Ggio snapped as he nearly slapped the distraught woman in front of him. She was clearly delusional at this point, hugging a corpse of a young boy with wide, blank eyes that seemingly saw nothing as she remained in her distraught state._

**I'm evil to leave off there, but I just want to get this done and over with. **


	7. A Fool's Game

**I'm soo sorry for the late update. My life's just been pretty hectic lately. **

**I don****'****t wanna rant too much this author****'****s note****…****..so****…****..it****'****s kind of hard not to talk too much****…****.**

**I recently became re-obsessed with Twilight, so you can find in that archive now. **

**Happy Thanksgiving to my American readers. I also hope those still affected by Sandy had one happy day.**

**For those who voted on my last poll, I****'****m flattered. No one picked my correct age****…****..O.O I****'****m 12 years old. Believe it! Yeah****…****.I don****'****t live in the most stable of households****…****and if you could see my school and how the kids behave and dress in it, it****'****s disgusting. But hey! Don****'****t judge me! Makes me wonder why I****'****m even bothering to reveal this info****…****..O,O **

**Ultima-owner: Thanks for saying that, it means a lot to me. At least no one except the one student was injured, that would have been terrible. **

**Lady Kaiki: Thanks~! ^.^ **

**Malix2: Thanks! ^.^ **

**Jetsmillion: That****'****s my one biggest pet peeve about this story. No matter how hard I try, I cannot come up with anymore scenarios for the characters to react to this information. -_- **

**KingoftheIceLord: Thanks, and the boy shot already is home after a lot of operations for him. Though I do feel sorry for the poor freshmen eating lunch at the time****…****The charges have been set, and the boy is charged with first degree murder with adult charges, and 29 counts for everyone in harm****'****s way. Thanks once more, it means a lot to me, and the victim would probably be pleased as well for your kind words.**

**Moving on****…****.here****'****s the chapter****…****..**

* * *

_I'm not strong enough to stay away_

_Can't run from you_

_I'd just run back to you_

_Like a moth I'm drawn into your flame_

_You say my name but it's not the same_

_You look in my eyes_

_I'm stripped of my pride_

_And my soul surrenders_

_And you bring my heart to its knees_

_And it's killing me when you're away_

_And I wanna leave_

_And I wanna stay_

_And I'm so confused_

_So hard to choose between the pleasure and the pain_

_And I know it's wrong_

_And I know it's right_

_And even if I tried to win the fight_

_My heart would overrule my mind_

_And I'm not strong enough to stay away_

_I'm not strong enough to stay away_

_What can I do _

_I would die without you_

_In your presence my heart knows no shame_

_I'm not to blame_

_'Cause you bring my heart to its knees_

_And it's killing me when you're away_

_And I wanna leave_

_And I wanna stay_

_And I'm so confused_

_So hard to choose between the pleasure and the pain_

_And I know it's wrong_

_And I know it's right_

_And even if I tried to win the fight_

_My heart would overrule my mind_

_And I'm not strong enough to stay away_

_There's nothing I can do_

_My heart is chained to you _

_And I can't get free_

_Look what this love has done to me _

_'Cause it's killing me when you're away_

_And I wanna leave_

_And I wanna stay_

_And I'm so confused_

_So hard to choose between the pleasure and the pain_

_And I know it's wrong_

_And I know it's right_

_And even if I tried to win the fight_

_My heart would overrule my mind_

_And I'm not strong enough to stay away_

_~ Not Strong Enough by Apocalyptica (Featuring Brent Smith of Shinedown ((in one version)) or Doug Robb of Hoobastank. The other version. There are two versions, one with each artist.)_

* * *

~ Konohagakure ~

A light breeze rippled through the marketplace of Konohagakure. It was filled with the cheerful civilians talking amongst themselves as a figure stood at her window watching the streets below her.

Sakura sighed as she stared into the blue sky with a small smile. Life had been perfect ever since the demon's death. Sure, there were sacrifices, but she would get her future with Sasuke-kun, and there were no interferences from that idiotic blonde.

She had finally convinced Tsunade to teach her, and she was the next upcoming Sannin, called to be the next Tsunade. There had only been one obstacle preventing her from getting the tutorship. Tsunade's annoying assistant and voice of reason, Shizune. Shizune suddenly died a year after Naruto's death, and that was the perfect opportunity to swoop in and take her place. But she couldn't help but to be somewhat suspicious about Shizune's death, but she had shrugged it off.

"Sakura! Dinner's ready!" Her mother Mebuki called from downstairs, and Sakura sighed once more.

"I'm coming!" She raced down the stairs and gave a smile to her father and mother before sitting down. Mebuki placed a homemade bowl of ramen in front of her, and her father, Kizashi, glanced at her.

"It's a miracle to see you eating with us." He stated calmly while breaking the seal the chopsticks were contained in.

"What do you mean?" She questioned as she swallowed some of the richly flavored noodles.

"It's just that you spend so much time with that Uchiha boy." Sakura's emerald eyes narrowed as she stared at her father even harder.

Mebuki sighed and placed her hand on her daughter's shoulder.

"What your father is trying to say is that you're always seen with Sasuke-san these days. You don't even keep contact with your old friends." She said this gently, as she knew her daughter's temper had increased over the years.

"What do you mean?! We've never been closer ever since that demon's death!" Sakura spat the last part out bitterly, and her parents exchanged worried glances. They knew the boy's innocence, as they were old companions of his mother Kushina.

"Sakura. I want you to stay away from that Uchiha boy." Kizashi abruptly stood up, knocking over his bowl of ramen in the process.

"NO!" Sakura yelled as she stood up herself, and she slammed her palms on the table, effectively cracking it.

"I am your father, and you shall listen to me!" Kizashi yelled as his face began to turn somewhat red. Sakura's eyes narrowed to slits, and she drew her fist backwards in a punching motion.

"NO!" Mebuki screamed as she leaped to restrain her daughter, and she barely succeeded. Kizashi gawked at the girl he called his daughter, and he felt ashamed at how he allowed her to become this way.

Sakura spat on her father's face, and then she turned around and stormed out of the house. Mebuki had tears streaming down her face as she stared at her daughter.

"W-Why must things have been this way?" She sobbed as she fell to her knees.

Kizashi shook his head mournfully. "Ever since that poor boy's death, she's changed."

The two stood there in silence, and then they got up and comforted each other their embrace.

* * *

~ Hyūga Manor ~

"Harder, Hanabi." The Hizashi's harsh voice commanded at his young daughter, who thrust her palm out with extreme force. If one were to watch her closely, you could have seen the nervous glances she would send to the eastern wing of the manor. That was where the true mourning of the day was occurring.

In her room in the eastern wing, a lone Hyūga stared at a picture blankly. Today was the day, but no one cared to remember anymore. The corners of her lips turned up slightly as she stared at the bright smile and blonde hair in the photo. Something she would never see again.

Hinata held back a sob as she stared at the photo, and her pale eyes closed slowly.

"Naruto….." She whispered as if he were a ghost listening to her. "Life's been hard without you. Neji nii-san left in anger of your death, and the Konoha 12 will never be the same again. I wanted to leave with him…but I couldn't leave Hanabi here alone….Forgive me!" She cried out as she fell onto her pillow, and it was immediately stained with her tears of sorrow.

"Hinata….." A soft voice came from doorway, and she glanced over to find Hanabi standing there watching her sister cautiously.

"H….ana…..bi…." She whispered in a shocked voice. Her sister had witnessed the entire event, and her father could be told immediately if her sister willed herself to do so. Hanabi silently sat next to her elder sister as she patted her back comfortingly, and the two held each other as they had silent tears going down their faces.

"Why must've things turned out to be this way?" Hanabi whispered as she clung to her elder sister like she was her lifeline. "Why couldn't have everything have worked out?!"

"I don't know Hanabi-chan. But we can only wish to see Konohamaru-kun, Neji-nii-san, and Naruto-kun once more in the possible future." Hinata sobbed as she stared out into the blue sky outside of her window. It only saddened her more as she was instantly reminded her of Naruto's clear blue eyes.

* * *

~ Akimichi Compound ~

Today was the day. It was the day his life was ruined. Literally.

Chōji stared at the picture of him, Asuma-sensei, Ino, and Shikamaru. Oh how he wished the times were the same as back then. Asuma had changed into a quieter man after Naruto's death, but he openly married Kurenai a year back. Everyone now knew that she was pregnant with a Sarutobi-Yuhi legacy.

He slowly turned his back away from the doomed picture of his past. He opened the screen slowly and sat down at the table, staring blankly at the sky. The sun was shining brightly, almost mocking him with the aura of brightness just oozing from it.

Chouza and his mother were worried about their only son, as he ate less than what he used to eat. They knew the cause- the leaving of so many friends. Chōji was traumatized from the events he saw, and so was Chouza. Both of them had lost their best friends in the short time of less than a month when the execution had occurred. They had opposed the idea, but didn't say anything out of fear. They truly loved their village, and the Akimichi clan had to keep the honor of their ancestors and the village.

"Chōji! Come down for supper!" Chōji's mother yelled from the large kitchen within the compound.

"Coming!" He yelled as he set down the picture gently. Just another day in this horrible, twisted life.

* * *

~ Uchiha District ~

The sound of thunder birds echoed through the empty streets of the empty Uchiha district. One Sasuke Uchiha brought his fist back from the hole in the dummy's chest.

"Perfect." He muttered as he charged up his Raiton chakra once more. He brought his charged hand horizontally as he shot several lightning senbon at the dummy, precisely hitting the vital spots.

"The Chidori Senbon is completed." He stated with a maniacal grin on his pale features. Another vital step just to defeat Itachi Uchiha once and for all. The village had given him everything he needed; it was now useless to him. It was time for him to soar like the Taka, and to Orochimaru of all people. He had secretly collaborated with the snake man, and now he was as powerful as ever. It was time for him to kill the snake for his power, and he finally would have the power to kill that damned brother of his, Itachi.

"Sasuke-kun!" A loud, obnoxious voice yelled through the empty streets, and he grimaced, but then smirked as he formulated the perfect plan to escape this damned hellhole.

Soon enough, a mop of pink hair bounced out from a nearby corner, and Sasuke found himself in a monstrously gripped hug.

"Sasuke-kun! I've been looking all over for you!" Sakura squealed as her grip tightened even further. Sasuke easily found himself choking for air as the girl continued to glomp him.

"I….ca….n't…..breathe!" He found himself choking as she quickly let go and apologized several times to her love.

The air was silent, and Sasuke was really starting to doubt if his plan were going to work or not with the pinkette.

"Sasuke….?" Sakura whispered, her emerald eyes full of hope and love.

"Yes Sakura?" His spirits were soaring in hope that she would fall for his plan.

"Can we go to the lake outside Konoha? Just to talk?" She questioned innocently, and Sasuke almost started laughing at how easy this task was becoming.

"Of course, Sakura." She fell for his fake smile hard, and she was never going to recover.

Oh, how foolish the cherry blossom was to fall for the snake.

* * *

~ The Land of Water- Nearby the border ~

Ggio sighed as he bit into an apple, and while sitting on a high branch of a tree. He was really regretting fleeing from Amegakure, but it was in a blind rage. He had feelings for the shark empress, he didn't want to admit it, but he did have feelings for her.

'_Why did I even bother__…__..? I should have just stayed with her, just to make sure she__'__s safe__…__.__'_ Ggio wanted to smack himself due to his stupidity, but he knew it wouldn't make anything better in the end.

"NO!" A scream echoed through the forest so loudly that Ggio fell from the high branch he was sitting on, and fell to the ground in a heap. Not missing a beat later, his apple and Zanpakutō fell on top of him with a loud thump.

"Dammit!" Ggio swore as he stood up quickly and fixed his hollow mask. He turned silently to the direction of the scream, and now he had an inner war within himself.

'_What should I do__…__.? Should I investigate, or should I just let some random person be murdered in the woods of the Land of Water__…__.? Dammit! Harribel usually makes these decisions, not me!__'_

With a sigh, Ggio trudged towards the disturbance, and once he could tell he was there, he crouched low within the foliage.

A woman was in a clearing, and she was screaming at a silver haired man across from her.

"DON'T DO IT! I'LL KILL YOU FOR THIS!"

The silver haired man held a young, frail looking boy in his arms, and a chakra scalpel was pushed against his neck.

"Make one move and Yūkimaru here is as good as dead." The silver haired man sneered, and the newly identified Yūkimaru's purple eyes widened in fright.

"I'm going to kill you, Kabuto!" The woman screamed as she did several hand signs at a rapid pace. "Kesshō: Rokkaku Shuriken: Ranbu!" Several crystal shuriken formed around her, and they quickly shot towards Kabuto, but his grin only grew larger.

Ggio wanted to tear his eyes away, but he already knew what was going to happen.

With a single fluid movement, blood splattered to the ground, staining the white flowers red.

In Guren's eyes, time seemed to stop. Ggio's eyes widened at the act of murder occurring right in front of him. Sure, he had murdered many, but none were as young or innocent as the young boy. His mental preparation moments before had also went to waste, as he felt sickened by this murder.

Guren stopped mid-step, and she fell to her knees with her wide eyes. Kabuto only grinned as he dropped the dying Yūkimaru to the ground, and he slowly walked away with his large grin.

Guren crawled to Yūkimaru, and his dying eyes stared at the woman he loved so dearly.

"G….ur…..en…?" He whispered faintly as he felt her teardrops fall onto his face.

"Yes….?" She whispered as she stared into his dimming eyes.

"Tha….nk yo….u…fo…r…..e…v….." He never finished his sentence, as his lips curved into a small smile, and he died peacefully in Guren's arms.

"NO!" Guren screamed as she clutched the boy's limp body to her chest. "YŪKIMARU!"

"You know, screaming his name won't make him come back." A somewhat amused Ggio stated as he leaned solemnly against a tree right behind the scene before him.

Guren's head whipped towards the sudden noise, and she leaped to her feet as she saw Ggio.

"I won't let you take me away from him!" Guren roared as she leaped towards Ggio with a crystal lance forming on her right arm.

"Hey! I don't mean trouble!" Ggio shouted as he leaped away from the crazed woman, but once she realized she had missed she twirled around and wildly swung the lance.

"NO! LIES!"  
'_Dammit__…__she won__'__t listen to reason. That boy and her must have been very close.__'_Ggio thought as he gripped his sword and slashed at the woman's arm, effectively cutting off the crystal lance.

Guren dropped to the ground in a moment of fatigue, and tears steadily streamed down her face.

"Kill me." She whispered so softly Ggio could barely hear it.

"What?!" He exclaimed in shock.

"KILL ME!" Guren screamed at him, her eyes widened frantically in her moment of insanity. It was obvious she and the boy were extremely close if she was having this strong of a reaction to his death.

"No." Ggio exclaimed quietly, and this only made Guren slump to the ground in defeat.

"…why…he was so young, and his life was taken away. Because of me…" She whispered as she stared at Yūkimaru's lifeless corpse.

"Do you think that boy would have wanted you to give up so easily? Just think how he would have felt if he were still alive."  
"You're right." Guren whispered as she sat near Yūkimaru. "He always told me that he cherished that fact that he lived….."

"Glad I made you see reason. I'm Ggio." Ggio introduced himself as he leaned against the rough tree trunk.

"Guren." Was the one-worded response he received from the grieving woman.

* * *

~ 2 hours later ~

"Why?!" Guren cried out in outrage and shock. The two had been sitting in the clearing for two hours now, just talking and reminiscing about their pasts.

"From what you have told me, this boy's body contains something about the three-tails. If Orochimaru or anyone who needed it, they could easily steal the body for what they need. It's much easier if we burn his body, no matter if either of us dislikes the idea." Ggio calmly explained, as he knew Guren could be a walking time bomb at the moment.

Guren's eyes widened as she realized the truth of what would have to occur here. A sob escaped from her as she clutched her beloved boy's limp body to her chest.

Ggio merely sighed as he let her mourn over the boy's death for the final time. Finally, Guren got up and placed Yūkimaru's body at the center of the clearing.

"I'm ready." She whispered as she began to flash through hand signs. A moment later, a fireball burst from her mouth and it seemed to head towards the corpse in slow motion. Guren watched as a single tear dropped from her eye as the fireball enveloped the boy that once was so vibrant, full of life. A wave of nostalgia hit her as she remembered their times together.

She could still remember Yūkimaru's bright smile and laugh as his purple eyes shone as he ran through the field of camellias.

It seemed like was only yesterday, and she remembered laughing with him as he tripped over a small rock, a rock that could even be considered a pebble.

It was all ruined within that fleeting moment.

Guren knew that Orochimaru wouldn't handle her defection easily, and with one of his prized possessions along with her.

But Kabuto had ambushed them. That one surprise attack ruined her reason to live, to continue onwards. Now she was in a clearing with a stranger she surprisingly felt that she could trust, and neither of them had managed to kill each other yet.

That would have been like suicide with any other shinobi, but for some odd reason she felt that she could actually trust Ggio.

"Do you want to come with me?" Ggio softly asked the crying woman as she leaned on the ground next to Yūkimaru's ashes.

Guren stared blankly at the ashes, debating the pros and cons of going with the complete stranger.

The good thing about it was his protection. He was obviously strong, so he could fend off Orochimaru's assassins and bounty hunters off for her. He also had connections. She could easily tell that from the way he held his head high, as if he were nobility.

The cons were that he could just easily murder her in the woods, and take the little she had. He could be just like Orochimaru, and just kill her for her rare bloodline.

Guren mentally shrugged, it wasn't as if she had anything to lose with the cons of going with him. She slowly stood up and dusted off her robe delicately.

"I'll go with you." She said the dreaded words, which gave Ggio a large grin.

"I'll protect you." He promised as he revealed his sharp canine teeth with a wide smile. Guren shivered when she saw that, but didn't bother to comment.

The two left the clearing quickly, and sped off towards Kumogakure. But they didn't know that they would be soon involved with a major conflict.

* * *

~ Sunagakure ~

"Incoming! Warn the Kazekage of two unknown intruders!" A brunette shouted from the top of Sunagakure's defensive walls.

"Hai, milady Maki!" A messenger shouted as he flickered away at top speeds to the Kazekage's office.

"Hurry! We must get into defensive position if these two intruders pose a threat!" Maki shouted as she prepared her cloth that rested behind her, while everyone else prepared their explosive kunai, senbon, shuriken, and regular kunai.

~ Meanwhile, with the 'intruders' ~

"So this is Sunagakure." Yūgao stated as she forced her tired and strained legs to continue to walk towards the outer wall of the hidden village.

"Yes, it is." Harribel vaguely said as the duo walked towards the wall, and faint shouts could be heard from it. "And it looks like they aren't going to take our visit in a welcoming manner." She stated as the first explosive kunai flew towards her. She leaped backwards and didn't bother to shield her face, unlike Yūgao who shielded her face and still coughed from the dust in the air.

A hail of mixtures of kunai, shuriken, and senbon flew towards the two as the Sunagakure ninja realized that the two didn't perish in the last attack.

Yūgao whipped out her sword to parry all of the weapons heading her way, while Harribel twisted and used Sonìdo to avoid every single weapon that even dared to go near her.

"Pretty damn persistent." Yūgao said with a grin as she kept parrying the onslaught of weapons.

"Move forward." Harribel stated in response, and she flickered forward to avoid another onslaught.

"DON'T LEAVE ME HERE!" Yūgao cried out as she ran after to her, sword still blocking all of the weapons aimed at her.

Once Harribel reached a certain boundary, several Suna shinobi leaped up to attack her.

'_Gaara__'__s going to kill me if I harm them__…__.__'_Harribel groaned as she unsheathed Tiburón to parry one of the swords aimed for her head. She easily evaded several kunai slashes while keeping an even grip, and she frowned. This was pitiful for someone of her caliber. That Hitsugaya Taichō was one of the best challenges she had ever had, but she would probably never face him again.

Yūgao was holding up just as well, as expected from the former ANBU. She knew as well not to fatally harm anyone, as that could be their ticket out of the village hidden in the Sand.

"What is going on here?" The deadly calm voice of the Kazekage stopped everyone in their tracks. Literally.

Maki rushed up from her assigned post. "Lord Gaara-sama ! These intruders appeared suddenly, so we tried to take care of the problem!"

Gaara glanced over at the 'intruders'. He sighed once he saw the tall blonde woman whose shirt barely covered her breasts. "Every time you come here, there is mayhem. These are not intruders, they are allies. I hope…" The last part was muttered under his breath, but Maki heard it and shot her Kazekage a dirty look.

"So are we allowed into the village or not?" Yūgao asked bluntly, her voice full of contempt.

Gaara shot her a look, and then sighed. "Come with me." He stated as he turned around and began walking into the village.

The duo walked down the winding streets of the village, and the civilians and shinobi alike were obviously tense at the sight of the two unfamiliar women behind their Kazekage. But they did not take action, as they now knew the boy they once called a demon could protect their entire village.

Once they reach Gaara's office, Gaara sat down immediately, Temari and Kankurō flanked both sides of him. Surprisingly, Baki was missing from the meeting.

"I can guess why you are here." He sighed as he clasped his hands together. "For the Kage Summit."

Harribel nodded, her face set into stone. "Correct. And to inform you of some pressing issues."

"What issues?" Temari spoke sharply, her dark eyes narrowed to slits.

"Akatsuki." Was all Harribel had to say to get a reaction out of the three siblings. Gaara's eye twitched in somewhat of fear, Temari's hand inched towards the scroll her fan resided in, and Kankurō clenched his fists.

"What about those bastards?" Kankurō spat, his eyes burning with rage.

"They aren't who they appear to be." Harribel spoke cautiously, as she knew she had to word this very carefully.

"What the hell do you mean? We know all we need to know about that organization!" Temari shouted as she brought her fist down on Gaara's wooden desk.

Gaara sat there silently, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Continue." He spoke right after Temari's outburst, and he received raised eyebrows from both of his siblings.

"I found out where the Konoha refugees had gone after fleeing. They had gone to Amegakure, the headquarters of the notorious Akatsuki." Harribel said as she kept her eyes focused on the trio in front of her, though she could see Yūgao shift uncomfortably behind her. "The leader of the Akatsuki, Pein, had connections with Jiraiya, and allowed the refugees to become citizens of Ame."

"But how does this clear the Akatsuki's image?" Gaara asked, his calm green eyes boring into Harribel's.

"Pein told the reason for Akatsuki's formation. Akatsuki was originally a group aiming for peace in Ame, but the leader, Yahiko, was killed in battle. Pein took over and sought world peace, and there is one person standing in the way." Harribel finished there, and all three siblings raised an eyebrow at her vague answer.

"Who is this person?" Kankurō asked after a brief moment.

"Look for the one in the swirled mask." Was all Harribel said as she turned and exited the door, Yūgao trailing behind. The three siblings were left to wonder what had just occurred with the cryptic woman.

* * *

~ Sunagakure- With Harribel and Yūgao ~

"Where are we going?" Yūgao questioned as she followed her mentor down the winding streets of the village.

"I want to visit someone in the cemetery." Harribel said as she kept her gaze forward, ignoring the stares the duo received.

The rest of the walk was silent, but when they reached the cemetery, a lone figure was kneeling by a tombstone. They reached near enough to hear the young girl's words as she whispered to the tombstone.

"Pakura-sensei. It has been so long since I have last visited you. I've been busy, as mysterious people have been intruding recently. This would not have happened if you were still alive, sensei." Maki's childlike face was stained with tears as she stared at the tombstone of her former mentor.

"You know what it is like to lose your sensei." Harribel stated from behind her, and Maki whirled around.

"What are you two doing here?! This is sacred Sunagakure grounds!" Maki shouted as she pulled some kunai out of her flak jacket.

"We do not mean to intrude. We merely wanted to pay our respects to the deceased Lady Chiyo." Harribel stated with both palms up in a non-threatening manner. Maki slowly put her kunai away, and she shifted her gaze back to the tombstone.

"Yes, my sensei Pakura had died when I was young. She was killed in a raid by those Iwa scum!" Maki spat as she stared at the horizon line with a look of vengeance crossing her face.

Harribel said nothing, as the look on Maki's face had said everything it needed to say. Maki wanted revenge, no matter if the culprits were already deceased.

Seeing that her business was already done, Maki left the cemetery without a backwards glance.

* * *

~ The Next Day- Kirigakure ~

"I see." Mei stated as she folded her hands and then pressed them to her forehead. "This troubles things entirely."

Haku and Ameyuri stood in the shadows of the room, the setting sun reflecting the sorrow on their faces.

"There is no other option. This is going to lead to war." Mei said the dreaded words, her eyes showing the great amount of sorrow she felt.

"Yes." Harribel said, her shoulders drooping at the thought.

"We're all going to die, aren't we?" Haku's timid voice spoke up, her brown eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

"Never speak like that!" Yūgao barked, her fists clenched in her fury. "We're going to live, and we're going to show the world that we have the strength to continue on, even in the harshest situation!"

"Strong speaking, little girl. But your faith may be useless in the end!" Ameyuri cut in, her kind voice unusually harsh and sharp.

"Shut the hell up, all of you!" Mei shouted, her fists banging onto the table. "The three of us leave for Kage Summit tomorrow, and we need to come up with a plan!"

"There is no plan!" Haku cried out, as she fled the room in a flurry of snowflakes. Ameyuri left right after her, an angry expression on her face.

Mei sank back into her chair and sighed. "There is no hope, is there?" She muttered as she fingered her Kage hat that sat on the edge of the table.

"You must have faith…." Yūgao muttered, but she wasn't even sure of herself now.

* * *

~ Riverside of Kirigakure ~

Haku stared back at her reflection in the Crystal Lake of Kirigakure. Everything had changed since Zabuza's death. She was now elite of the free Kiri, and managed to be Zabuza's final legacy, but she was now a different person than who she used to be.

"But it all ends here, doesn't it?" She chuckled bitterly as she threw a pebble into the lake, disturbing the image of herself.

"As that girl said, you must have faith." Ameyuri's voice cut in from behind her. Haku half turned only to find the woman sitting right next to her.

"There is no hope if the situation is as dire." Haku stated as she threw another pebble into the water.

"Haku-chan, what had happened to you? You've been so bitter lately." Ameyuri said, her voice reflected her concern for her friend.

Haku let out another bitter chuckle. "We're ninja, pawns of war. We fight for the ones and village we love, but what is it all in the end? For fame, or glory? It's a cycle of hatred that is just bred through each generation."

Ameyuri remained silent through the younger girl's rant, but when she finished she put her piece in. "But what is it all in the end to you? Rather have everyone you know gone, or live knowing they are safe by your hand?"

Haku remained silent as she stared at the setting sun, and it remained that way with the two women.

* * *

~ The Next Day ~

"Represent us well, Lady Mizukage." The elder hobbled forward, and in his hand, the Kirigakure Kage hat was grasped tightly.

"I will." Mei promised as she took the hat and put it on. She, Haku, and Ameyuri turned to leave for the awaited Kage Summit, sparing one final glance at their beloved village.

~ Sunagakure ~

"LORD GAARA! KAZEKAGE-SAMA!" The cheers rang out as Gaara, Temari, and Kankurō stared at the large amount of villagers that had come to see their beloved Kage go.

"Hard to believe two years ago these people would have slit your throat, eh Gaara?" Kankurō chuckled as he clamped his brother on the back with an idiotic grin.

Gaara remained silent as Suna faded from view, and Temari just scoffed at her brother's antics.

* * *

~ Konoha – The Day Before ~

A single woman sat in a room in the Kage Tower. A sake bottle was clutched tightly in her hand, but she was shrouded in darkness.

Tsunade Senju took another shot of beer as she stared at the milling businesses and people on the streets below, while she wallowed in her self-pity. She clenched her fists, forgetting her monstrous strength, and the sake bottle shattered from the force of her grip.

"What am I doing to myself?" She whispered, her amber eyes full of mourning and sadness as she stared at her own face on the Kage Mountain. All that did was remind her even further of a certain blonde boy's dream.

A memory hit her, a sign of the political instability within the village, but she had ignored it when the signs began to come clear.

* * *

_~ A Year Ago- Hokage's Tower ~  
"Where the hell is Shizune?" Tsunade muttered as she waved her tired hand out from all of the writing she had done. Her assistant had never shown up for work, something that had never occurred in their time together. _

_Normally, Shizune would be the one to come and get her, not the other way around. But it looked like that would have to change today._

_Tsunade rose up from her seat and calmly exited the doorway. Her walk to Shizune's apartment was calm and peaceful, as she was praised on the streets for her deed of getting rid of the 'demon boy'. _

_That mention hit Tsunade hard. Naruto was like her own child, or even her own grandchild. She was thinking rashly when she ordered his execution, and the pressure from the village advisors didn't help. Danzō had even come out of the woodwork to have a say in that matter, but that made her suspicious. _

_Tsunade regret Naruto's death even further than what had ever happened. The village was split up, and half of the village had even left. That included her dear friend Jiraiya. She still remembered the argument before he left._

* * *

"_Tsunade, you ruined the future of the village! Why did you ever want to crush a boy's dream, and when he did a deed that saved this village's sorry asses!" Jiraiya had roared at her, his face turning red from his anger. _

_She had stared him down with a tone that she had thought made her sound official. "He threatened the safety of the village. As Hokage, it is my duty to preserve the stability and peace within the village!" _

_This had only made Jiraiya snort in dark amusement. "How the hell was that saving the village? You lost an important figure to the village, one that could save this sorry village's asses! And for what, a greedy Uchiha heir that would probably stab you all in the back just for power and greed!" He shot back, and this had only made Tsunade's mouth become set into a grim line. _

"_Jiraiya. Leave." She ordered as she grabbed her sake bottle and took a swig out of it. Jiraiya said nothing as he had stormed out of the room in his anger. _

_That was the last time he was seen in the village of Konohagakure, and the last time she had ever seen him._

* * *

_Tsunade felt that after that moment she had regret everything she had done. But she still remained in the same cycle of hatred and ruling over the village like a puppet. _

_She had soon found herself at Shizune's doorstep, and she knocked on the door gently. She had made sure not use so much power that the door would be knocked off, as that had happened numerous times. _

_Tsunade's brow furrowed as there was no response to her knock. She rapidly knocked several more times, each time being met with silence. _

"_SHIZUNE! OPEN UP!" She called out, but still there was no response. Where could she have gone? She never missed work, and she was dedicated to her sensei. _

_Tsunade sighed as she realized what she was going to have to do. She put her pointer finger to the door, and blasted the damned thing off of its hinges. _

_She entered the darkened apartment, and a strange metallic scent met Tsunade's nose. Amber eyes widened as she recognized the smell from all of her work. Her fear kicked in as she walked to Shizune's room, and a prompt scream came from her. _

_Shizune's mutilated body lay on the floor, a puddle of blood surrounding her stomach, chest, and even her head. Tsunade could feel herself begin to hyperventilate, just as the ANBU tailing her leaped into the scene of action. _

_Days later, she was a shell of the woman she once was. She had lost everything she had loved, and just in a short amount of time. _

_She remembered reading the autopsy report, and the forensics investigation results. Several key points caught her eye, but she had ignored the signs of the murder being from within the village. _

_Shizune's corpse had shown to have been murdered that morning, and the forensic pathologists had been able to uncover that she had struggles against her attacker, and somehow recognized them. _

_A piece of an ANBU mask was found and a blunt kunai handle was found on the floor. _

_The most mysterious result was that a single paintbrush with black ink was found merely a couple inches from Shizune's hand, almost as if one of the murder weapons was the actual paintbrush. _

_But Tsunade had ignored the signs, and the investigation was called off. _

_~ End of Flashback ~_

* * *

A sigh escaped from Tsunade. How could she have been so stupid? The signs were obvious, and yet she allowed herself to be manipulated so easily.

"Lady Tsunade! Are you ready for Kage Summit?" Gai shouted as he busted down the door, his energetic smile in place. He had become more serious, but he also kept some of his old attitude.  
"I tried to stop him." Asuma sighed as he entered through the new hole in the wall.  
"Let's just go." Tsunade sighed as she put on the Kage hat and robe, a new determination set in her. She was going to restore Konoha's image and stability, just to make up for everything she had done.

* * *

~ ROOT hideout ~

"She what?" Danzō hissed as he listened to his messenger's latest news.

"Yes, my lord, she has come to her senses." The messenger stated, his voice remaining emotionless.

"Dammit!" He swore as he slammed his cane to the ground. "Sai! Come!"

A boy came from the shadows, a fake smile plastered on his face. "Yes Lord Danzō?" He asked innocently.

"Come, we're going to end the fool of a Kage."

* * *

**END OF CHAPTER 7- A Fool's Game **

**Please review and tell me what you think! **

**I'll update "The Legend of Exile" by Monday~!**


	8. Kage's Unite- Tsunade's Sorrow!

**I'm back, everyone! **

**Lol, sorry for the long wait! I just wanted to try something new, such as Twilight fanfics and oneshots. I'M SOOOOOO SORRY IF I'M ON YOUR ALERTS LIST, AND YOU GOT A BUNCH OF TWILIGHT ALERTS! XD I'M SORRY I SPAMMED YOU ALL! -_- **

**Merry Christmas, or any holiday celebrated! **

**It took me awhile to get me back into the Naruto and Bleach mind frame, as I've been writing Twilight stories recently…..*gets sheepish look* **

**Oh my god….I read the most recent chapter, and I cannot believe *SPOILERSPOILERSPOILERSPOILER * **

**Neji's dead…..NO! NOT MY PRECIOUS NEJI-KUN! I swear the writers of Naruto and Bleach are finally manning up, but it hurts to know one of my favorites is now dead…same with Byakuya. *Sniff Sniff* And even my precious Shikaku and Inionchi and Ao! NOOOOOOOOOOOO! THEY'RE ALL DYING OUT ON US! **

***ENDOFSPOILERENDOFSPOILERENDO FSPOILERENDOFSPOILER* **

**Yeah, I'm pretty far behind in Bleach…..**

**Malix2: Thanks! ^_^ **

**Darkmachines: Maybe she shall, maybe she shall not…..I have decided that she'll make an appearance, in the most shocking way possible. **

**ultima-owner: Yup! **

**god of all: Thanks! ^_^ **

**Lady Kaiki: Thanks! ^_^ **

**Here's Chapter 8 of Retribution!**

* * *

_Make me whole again_

_Open your eyes_

_Taunted by the shadows_

_Of your lie_

_Cold and far away_

_Like you're not even mine_

_Undo everything_

_And take me _

_Higher_

_Never believing what they say_

_Cause I'm_

_Counting the days_

_To meet you on the other side_

_I will always be_

_Waiting_

_Until the day that I see you_

_On the other side_

_Come and take me home_

_I'm not giving in_

_I want you back_

_Holding together by the shards of our past_

_Stole my heart away_

_I can't let you go_

_Break these chains_

_And let me fly to you_

_High above the world below_

_Over and over in my mind_

_Counting the days_

_To meet you on the other side_

_I will always be_

_Waiting_

_Until the day that I see you_

_On the other side_

_Come and take me home_

_I am so lost without my place_

_Inside your heart_

_I won't survive_

_I need to know you hear me_

_Awaken and release my love_

_Counting the days_

_To meet you on the other side_

_I will always be_

_Waiting_

_Until the day_

_That I see you on the other side_

_Come and take me_

_Counting the days_

_To meet you on the other side_

_I will always be_

_Waiting_

_Until the day that I see you_

_On the other side_

_Come and take me home_

_~ The Other Side by Evanescence ~_

* * *

~ Amegakure – The Day of the Kage Summit ~

Ringed eyes stared over the horizon of Ame, as a sigh fell from the Akatsuki leader's lips. He knew it was time, but he wanted to give one final moment with his angel.

Pein glanced back from his perch, at the motionless Konan. Her blue hair was framing her face delicately, and she looked so fragile. He got up and moved to beside his fallen angel, and caressed her face one final time. He was sure about his destiny; he was going to fight for what he believed in.

"Konan, I shall see you later." He whispered in a loving tone as he pressed his lips to hers. It felt wrong, as she was cold and motionless. So close to a corpse, yet so far.

Pein grabbed his Akatsuki cloak in one sweeping moment, and placed it on his body. From the shadows of the room, his other 5 paths emerged, all looking grim, yet determined.

"Nagato…." Jiraiya's voice came from the doorway, and he turned to see his mentor leaning on the door frame with his arms crossed.

"Sensei." He responded coolly, keeping his tone even. There couldn't be any interruptions with his destiny, not even from his beloved sensei.

"You're really going to leave Konan like this? How devastated would you think she would be if she woke up without you!?" Jiraiya exclaimed, his voice steadily rising. Nagato wanted to flinch, but he didn't. He had to fulfill his dream, Konan's dream, and even Yahiko's dream.

"She would understand." Was all Nagato said before jumping out the room, his paths following behind him. Jiraiya watched with tears poking from the corners of his eyes. For once, he let them fall freely as he watched his student's silhouette disappear among the buildings of Amegakure.

"She wouldn't, Nagato. We need you, yet good luck." Jiraiya whispered to the empty room, staring off into the dark clouds of Amegakure.

The villagers only watched as the ever falling rain seemed to increase, almost weeping in loss. Their confusion was evident in the bustling villages, and to the members of Akatsuki.

Nagato wasn't coming back, not even for his precious angel. It was time for a change, though rather unscheduled.

* * *

~ The Land of Snow- With the Konohagakure Trio ~

"You lack the power of youth, Asuma!" Gai cried out as he, Tsunade, and Asuma padded through the heavy snow. Tsunade was evidently annoyed, as she kept clenching her fists to control the urge to kill Gai.

Asuma was watching both of his companions wearily. He was noting down their behaviors, Tsunade's was what worried him the most. He knew she was controlled by the elders of the village, but she seemed to have her own free will now. It was astonishing to see how quickly the once shell of a Kage came back to her normal mindscape.

"YOUTHFUL COMPANIONS, WE MUST RUN FOR THE REST OF THE JOURNEY!" Gai screamed, his obnoxiously loud voice echoing throughout the forest, and Tsunade let out a sigh of frustration. If anyone were actually bothering to tail them, they were officially screwed.

Just as she feared, a lion pounced out from the trees, much to the trio's astonishment. Gai reacted immediately, and swung his foot at the feline. But what shocked the group further was that it burst into a black puddle, a puddle of ink.

Asuma gasped as he realized he recognized that ink. He remembered a young recruit into ANBU who used ink, his named was Sai. The boy gave him the feeling to be on edge whenever he was around him; he seemed to be very suspicious in the Jōnin's eyes, so he tried to avoid him as much as possible.

"Duck!" Tsunade screamed as an axe flew above their heads, and the other two immediately followed her example. They kept their crouches as they examined the perimeter, and Tsunade's eyes locked into one spot that seemed very suspicious. "There." She muttered to her companions, who followed her line of sight to the spot she was looking at.

Asuma slid out his chakra blades, and pumped a lot of chakra into them. He wasn't going to go soft when Tsunade's life was in danger. Gai seemed tense as well, prepared to fly at any opponent foolish enough to do close combat.

The clearing seemed silent, until an attack occurred from an entirely different spot. Kunai rained down from above, and now one of the opponents was revealed.

Gai dodged every kunai heading in his direction, as did Tsunade. Asuma merely reflected them with his chakra blades as he scowled. The attackers were lacking at the basic skill of stealth, but did have the element of surprise.

The female attacker landed on the ground gracefully, senbon now in her hand. Before anyone could react, she twirled, sending a rain on senbon at the trio. It was also evident the female had little skill in wielding senbon, but all she had was the speed of hurling them. Her senbon never even hit her intended targets. Tsunade smirked at how easy this was going to be, as she leaped into a tree. But much to her astonishment, she heard a rustling sound from behind her. She whirled around with wide eyes as a mere boy leaped out of the tree, tantō in hand. She prevented him from swiping at her as she punched him in the gut, her punch sending him through several trees.

Asuma reflected the senbon being thrown endlessly at him, as he slowly moved closer in for the kill. Gai managed to stop the girl with his speed, and restrained her. Asuma approached the two of them after he saw Tsunade was safe, before approaching the girl.

He knelt down to her eyelevel, and met with her hateful jade eyes. Asuma immediately assumed that she was born in an enemy village to Konoha, but he couldn't be too sure.

"What village are you from?" He questioned, seeing no forehead protector on her. She spat in his face as a response. Asuma calmly wiped her spit off of his face as he repeated the question. She stared at him before a moment before sighing. She was reluctant, but she still responded.

"Konohagakure." She whispered as she unsealed a forehead protector from an arm seal. Asuma stared at her in astonishment, after seeing it was authentic. Gai seemed to be upset, but he remained silent. It was slightly obvious that she wasn't a well-trained shinobi, as her needle work had been very clumsy as well.

"Why...?" Asuma whispered, resisting the urge to pull out a cigarette from the pressure of the entire situation. Oh he now wished that he didn't quit smoking for Kurenai, but older memories haunted him as well. Shikamaru, Ino, and Chōji always used to complain about the smell. He was honoring his former students as well, protecting his precious memories of them.

"_He _promised us what we wanted!" The girl cried out as her jade eyes widened considerably. "He told us we would be going against easy targets! Please don't kill me!" She cried out as she shielded her face from the two. Gai and Asuma exchanged looks, not noticing the boy bolting from the trees. A moment later, blood splashed down the both of them as the girl screamed. The boy attacker's tantō was buried deep within her chest, and tears spilled from the girl's eyes.

The boy emerged from the trees, Tsunade nowhere to be seen. He walked to the edge of the clearing, waiting to see if Asuma or Gai would put up the first move.

"Why…? Sai, I thought you were going to help me….." The girl was choking on her own blood by this point, it was evident she was going to die if Tsunade wasn't going to come back soon.

The 'Sai' plastered a very fake and emotionless smile on his face. His eyes were hard though, and the smile never even reached his eyes.

"You were only a tool to the master. You proved yourself to be a meaningful distraction though." Was all he said before turning away from the dying girl. Gai and Asuma glanced at the girl once last time before Gai gently placed the dying girl against a tree root, in the cold snow.  
The pure white snow was tainted in white, tainted with the newest life taken from the wretched world.

The girl leaned against the tree, and she could see her eyes getting blurry. The two men holding her were now fighting with Sai, and the woman emerged from the trees, now covered in ink. She wished she could see more, but she knew she was dying.

"Dad….. She whispered as she saw her mother smiling in her failing vision. "I'm…..so…..rry….." She murmured as her strength failed her, and her eyelids closed one final time.

No one noticed her as she died, as she once wished for. Ayame was gone from the world, never to return to Teuchi, never to serve Ramen again.

"What the hell….?" Tsunade muttered as she dodged an ink lion, and her stomach lurched at the sight of the blood on the ground and snow, and the corpse sitting on the tree side. Images blurred around her mind, and she saw Dan's corpse in the girl's place. She shook her head, trying to rid herself of the horrifying images. It somewhat cleared her head, but she then felt a searing pain in her middle.

A lion sunk its paws into her stomach, leaving a large gash in its place. Tsunade gasped as she saw it, and it unnerved her companions to see her hurt. Gai hurtled towards Sai and managed to get him in a chokehold, as he was celebrating his supposed victory.

"Why did you come here?" Tsunade said as she glared the boy down with intense amber orbs. He only smirked as he spat in her face.

"No one has to tell you, witch." He said, his smirk spread over his face now. Tsunade's eye twitched as she stared at the boy before her. She looked him up and down, staring at his pale complexion. He looked much underfed in her eyes, very malnourished.

"I see then. As a traitor of the village of Konohagakure, you must be executed!" She demanded as she took a step away from the traitor. Asuma gripped his chakra blades tighter as he beheaded the boy.

Sai's head fell to the ground with a thump, and the snow turned an even more deadly shade of crimson. Gai let go of the corpse, and it fell into the snow silently.

"Let's go." Tsunade stated as she moved away from the scene of the murder, unaware of the future events to occur.

But what she failed to notice was the paintbrush on the ground, smeared in blood. Sai's hand once gripped it so hard, now it was useless.

Tsunade had avenged Shizune, unknowingly.

* * *

~ Land of Snow- Kage's Fortress ~

Tsunade didn't feel the slightest bit welcome as she padded through the halls of the fortress the Summit was held. She was flanked by Gai and Asuma, both tense and ready to protect her at a moment's notice. In front of them were 3 samurai, all tense as well. It was evident that they didn't feel comfortable with the foreigners either.

They stopped in front of a large metal door, and one of the samurai's muffled voices said,

"This is where the Kages are going to meet. You are expected, proceed ahead."

Tsunade took a deep breath as she pushed open the doors. An ominous creaking sound echoed through the room as she stepped into the dark room. It was a hallway, a long one at it. She slowly made her way through, slipping the Kage robe over her regular attire, as Gai and Asuma glanced around wearily from behind her.

At the end of the hall was another door. Tsunade gripped it, and opened it.  
She entered the room slowly, suddenly uncomfortable at the eyes staring at her. All of the Kages were waiting for her, staring at her with contempt, hatred, or boredom.

Gai and Asuma made their way into the stands, where they sat in the area where they could easily view Tsunade from. Tsunade moved towards her seat, and she felt the entire eyes shift with her movement as she did so. She wanted to let out a tear, or even an apology, when she passed Gaara, as he only looked at her with an emotionless face. But she knew he was probably disgusted with her anyways, and he knew that she knew his true feelings.

Tsunade sat down in her seat, and then Mifune, the commander in chief of the Land of Snow, cleared his throat, his posture perfect, yet tense.

"I now call this Kage Summit meeting to begin. Kages, place your mantles on the table in front of you." The Kages obliged, and each placed their respective mantles in front of them. The tension in the room was thick, as no one trusted each other in this situation.

"Due to the growing tension in the Elemental Nations, Raikage-sama," The Raikage, a well-toned and well-built man seemed proud of these words, "has requested the five Kages gather here today. I shall act as a witness to this meeting, and as a moderator. Let this begin."

It was tense until a brief moment, when Gaara decided to put his two cents into the meeting, and to start it.

"I shall start, everyone please listen up." He stated, his hands folded briskly underneath his chin. He got odd looks from the Raikage and Tsuchikage, but the one who he wanted to listen the most wasn't even looking at him.

Temari and Kankurō grinned at each other in the stands where the bodyguards sat, they truly were proud of their younger brother.

"The conduct of order certainly has changed if one as young as you was able to take up the mantle of Kazekage." Ōnoki stated calmly, his eyes trained on Gaara. "You must've been something; your father must've raised you that way. But he didn't seem to have taught you manners." Gaara's eye twitched, but he kept his face an emotionless mask. His past was not a discussion for the other Kages to hear, especially for a serious meeting such as this one.

"I suppose. I am the Kazekage, am I not?" Gaara retorted calmly, his tone laced with annoyance. His green eyes drilled into the Tsuchikage, much to Ōnoki's amusement.

'_What an impertinent kid!' _Ōnoki chuckled; his thoughts were amused by the younger Kazekage.

"Tsuchikage-sama, please don't interrupt. Continue, Kazekage-sama." Mei Terumī, the Mizukage, spoke up; her tone also was laced with irritation.

"What do you think is the Tsuchikage's freakin' problem?" Kankurō whispered to Temari from the stands, but one of the Tsuchikage's bodyguards, the woman, heard it. She flashed him the middle finger from her position, and sneered at him.

Temari also gave him a dirty glance as she said, "Shut up and listen." He complied immediately.

"I was once a former Jinchūriki," Gaara began, "the Akatsuki managed to extract my Bijū and nearly killed me as a result. Nevertheless, I don't view them as a serious threat. There must be a bigger threat out there, looming on the horizon." His words shocked the other Kage, just judged from the stupefied looks on their faces. The Raikage looked as if he wanted to punch Gaara's face in though.

"I sought help when I was in need, but only the Hokage sent help, even if it was too late." These words sent shivers down Tsunade's core. She clearly remembered Kiba Inuzuka, Hinata Hyūga, and Kurenai telling her that they saved the Kazekage. When Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke had arrived back, they had told her the same thing. Gai and Lee had been mysteriously absent, and she now knew why. She truly felt guilty now for what she had done.

"It's shameful if the villages allow their Bijū to have been abducted anyways! And to especially tell the other hidden villages? It's only natural to keep your attempts to recover them as a secret! Who asks other nations to help recover their own stolen weapons?" Ōnoki shouted, his eyes glaring daggers at Gaara. It was evident that he insulted the much younger Kazekage, and dared to insult any other Kage who took the same actions.

The Tsuchikage's bodyguards, Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi, stared at their Kage with shock.

"Think he's overdoing it a little?" Akatsuchi whispered to his female companion, who snorted in amusement.

"He's always been like that, gramps." She stated, and then she turned back to the meeting with ever diligent attention. Akatsuchi knew what she was looking for. News on Deidara.

"Protecting status and honor….." Gaara mused out loud, and he was planning his next words carefully, "A foolish way of thinking from a time that has passed."

'_Bah! That damn boy!' _Ran through the elderly Tsuchikage's head, his eyes narrowed to slits at the Kazekage's intentional jab at his age.

"The Kazekage's right with his point of them not being an immediate threat. Even though they have stolen Bijū, it is a known fact that it takes skill, knowledge, and above all, time to be able to control them." Mei stated from her spot, her voice taking on a serious tone.

"You should know that, shouldn't you, Kazekage?" Ōnoki couldn't resist this jab at his counterpart, who merely stared back at him blankly.

"Wasn't there only four people who could control a Bijū?" Tsunade asked, and she kept her tone light. "Uchiha Madara, Hashirama Senju, Yagura, and Killer Bee."

Her words only ignited a spark in the abnormally quiet Raikage. He brought his fist up, and slammed it down onto the table in front of him. The bodyguards of the Kage leaped into action, and each one was prepared to defend their Kage.

"Enough!" He screamed, his eyes blazing with fury.

"Gai, Asuma." Tsunade stated quietly, and with one backwards glance they knew to retreat.

"Kankurō, Temari, you can stand down." Gaara stated, and they retreated. Deep down, Gaara truly did appreciate them doing their best to protect him, but now wasn't the time.

One by one, the rest of the bodyguards retreated back into their places in the stands. The room now contained a tense silence from what the Raikage created.

But what they didn't know was of the event occurring not even past the borders of the land of Snow, and how it would change their lives as they knew it forever.

* * *

~ Land of Snow ~  
The Land of Snow truly was a frigid place, especially to the native of Amegakure. Nagato ran through the snow, looking for his target.

"I didn't expect you to be so foolish." A voice mocked from a tree that was only feet away from him.

Nagato stopped immediately, and his ringed eyes narrowed at a familiar sight. It was the man known as Tobi, and he had his familiar orange swirled mask on.

"Someone needed to stop you." He stated as he stared at his enemy with a blank expression, his eyes narrowed in hatred. "You are the darkness in this land, and light needs to be brought forth!"

"You sound like your foolish girl. Is she dead yet? I didn't care enough to check in." Tobi's mocking voice said as the snow whirling around intensified, and his words were all that it took to send Nagato into a rage, charging the man head on.

"You're going to die here, Obito!" He screamed as his paths appeared beside him, prepared to fight to the finish.

In Amegakure, amber orbs opened up with a startled gasp.

* * *

**End of Chapter 8- Vengeance **

**Please review and tell me what you think. No Harribel or Ggio this chapter, but they'll both appear next chapter, with A LOT OF ACTION! ^_^ **

**Anyhoo, I have a poll up to see what story my attention should focus on the most. Please vote on what you think! ^_^ **

**Otherwise, don't expect frequent updates. More like month to month, unless I have sudden bursts of inspiration. **

**See y'all next time! ^_^ Zai jian! **


	9. While There is Hope, There is Sorrow

**Well, it's safe to say this is my most epic chapter yet. So…much…action! *_* That's the only spoiler I'm giving for now! **

**Let's call this a treat to y'all, cause without all you readers I wouldn't have gotten this far! ^_^**

**I'd say the instrumental theme of this chapter is "Spirit of Champions" by Two Steps from Hell. Go ahead and listen to it, if you truly want to. It helped me with my epic writing mood. Lol, I'm not that great of a writer, I'm just proud of myself for this chapter! ^_^ **

**Okay, based in manga events, I'm going to take an estimate and guess Nagato's and Konan's ages. It should be in their mid-twenties, as Obito visited them when they were a trio, the Ame Orphans, so then they were still young. Obito is around 30, so they should be around 20-28 years of age. **

_**Epic Pein: Aw, thanks! ^_^ Glad I met your expectations! Thanks! ^_^ Eh, I wasn't keen on using Ayame, but I kind of had to. I needed someone minor from Konoha, and sadly she met my expectations…. :( Yup, you got both guesses right. **_

_**TheBlackSeaReaper: Thanks! ^_^ **_

_**ultima-owner: Oh yeah! XD **_

_**HikaruWinter: *Grins evilly* Harribel reappears in this chapter, but I'm trying not to spoil anything now! Though I will say Ggio's going to be missing in all the action! XD All shall be revealed in this chapter! XD Ah yes, the oh so wonderful whisker marks….now I wanna glomp Naruto! ^_^**_

**Well, here's the long awaited Chapter 9! Hope y'all LOVE it! **

* * *

_Hold on to me, love_

_You know I can't stay long_

_All I wanted to say was_

_I love you and I'm not afraid, oh_

_Can you hear me?_

_Can you feel me in your arms?_

_Holding my last breath_

_Safe inside myself_

_Are all my thoughts of you_

_Sweet raptured light, it ends here tonight_

_I'll miss the winter_

_A world of fragile things_

_Look for me in the white forest_

_Hiding in a hollow tree_

_(Come and find me)_

_I know you hear me_

_I can taste it in your tears_

_Holding my last breath_

_Safe inside myself_

_Are all my thoughts of you_

_Sweet raptured light, it ends here tonight_

_Closing your eyes to disappear_

_You pray your dreams will leave you here_

_But still you wake and know the truth_

_No one's there_

_Say goodnight_

_Don't be afraid_

_Calling me, calling me_

_As you fade to black_

_~My Last Breath by Evanescence ~_

* * *

"**No one really knows why they are alive until they know what they'd die for."**

**-Martin Luther King Jr.**

* * *

~ The Land of Snow- Outside of the location of the Kage Summit ~

"You sure about this? If we go in there, we're gonna die." Yūgao hissed as she eyed the fortress. "There is five- hell, maybe six- of the strongest people of their nations. It's a suicide mission!"

Harribel scoffed when she heard her comrade's words of uncertainty. "Do you doubt me that much, child?"

Yūgao opened her mouth to protest, then her eyes widened when she felt an unfamiliar chakra signature. Harribel sensed it as well, and her hand moved towards Tiburón as she watched with narrow eyes.

As expected, a blur came out of the trees, and both of the women recognized the figure immediately. Yūgao and Harribel watched with narrow eyes as Sasuke Uchiha ran towards the hideout, looking determined.

"You saw that too, didn't you?" Yūgao asked for a moment, and Harribel gave her an odd look as she did ask this question. "What! I thought I was in a Genjutsu for a moment."

"Something's wrong. Sasuke was in Konoha, and he's coming here…He must have given in to his selfish desires!" Harribel thought out loud, and her eyes widened as the dots connected. "He's going to attempt to kill the Kages! The fool!" Yūgao snorted when she heard this, then another chakra explosion made them whip their heads towards the direction it came from.

"What the hell is going on?!" Yūgao whispered as Harribel realized that there was a familiar chakra signature just mixed in with that explosion.

"Pein…..and another person are fighting. Let's move." The duo disappeared quickly, in a swirl of leaves and a static like sound, looking for the cause of the disturbance.

* * *

~ With Nagato and Tobi/Obito ~

Nagato let out a roar as he tried to punch Tobi in his fury, but it went through the masked man due to his Kamui technique. Nagato immediately went back to a defensive position once he realized he was attacking blindly when in rage.

"Did I anger you with my mention of your precious Konan?" Obito mocked, and his tone was light, yet sinister sounding at the same time. Nagato wanted to pummel him to the ground, but kept himself calm and controlled. "Or was it the fact that I was the one to harm her?"

Nagato took a deep breath as he prepared his next words carefully. He wanted to hit the most sore topics for the masked man, he wanted info, and he was going to get it.

"Why are you doing this, Obito? From what I heard, you used to be so dedicated to your village. Why would you go rogue, and become the twisted darkness you are now?" Nagato's words were planned carefully, as he wanted the information he needed. One's past was bound to be a sore subject to most shinobi, so it was worth a shot to bring it up to this cruel man.

Much to Nagato's astonishment, Obito laughed. It was a loud, yet dark laugh at the same time. It slightly unnerved the younger man, but he glared down the masked man with a fury unknown to other men.

"You know nothing, child." Obito said after collecting himself, "I saw the girl I loved _murdered_. I shall make a world where no has to suffer, no one has to cry once more!"

Nagato wanted to raise an eyebrow at this statement, but didn't say anything. He now knew one of the masked man's motives, but it wasn't enough to make a full diagnosis of the situation so far.

"You're damned group, the Akatsuki, was built for my sole purpose. Don't you remember, Nagato? And I shall fulfill the promise I made that day!"

Nagato's ringed eyes widened as he thought back to this supposed day, then cursed mentally.

* * *

_~ Flashback- Approximately 10 years ago : Amegakure ~ _

"_Augh!" Yahiko yelled out in pain as he was slugged in the stomach by an enemy Iwagakure shinobi. The shinobi let out a smirk, showing his black, rotting teeth, and seemingly accepted that he had already won. It was a big mistake on his part, as a moment later, paper shuriken were embedded into his back. "Nice job, Konan!" Yahiko praised the purple haired woman, and she blushed and smiled back at him. _

_Nagato was using several Suiton jutsu to clear out the remaining Iwagakure forces, and then Konan and Yahiko stood by him and helped him finish them off. _

"_We did well, didn't we?" Konan stated as she wiped some blood off of her cloak, and then glanced around the battlefield. There were casualties on both sides, but the Akatsuki had truly won this battle. The ground was littered with corpses, some bloody, some not, and little red streams were formed from the ever falling rain. _

_All three of them stiffened when they heard clapping from the background. There, sitting on a ledge, was a masked man. He wore an orange mask, and black clothing. _

"_Who are you?" Nagato's brave voice rang throughout the battleground, his ringed eyes narrowed in suspicion at this man. Konan, Yahiko, and he were all tense, prepared for another battle if it came to that. Maybe it wasn't so smart to only be the three remaining members of the team that fought Iwa. _

"_I am Madara Uchiha." He introduced himself, and the three stiffened further. _

"_That's impossible!" Konan exclaimed, her amber orbs narrowed to slits, "Madara died against the first Hokage!" _

_The masked man claiming to be Madara let out a chuckle as he stared at the three through his mask. His companion behind him said nothing, just let out a small smirk.  
"History can be deceiving, girl." He said as he suddenly turned serious. "I want you three to join me in my plan to take over the world, and put the misery to an end. Together, we can create worldwide peace." _

_The three orphans exchanged glances at each other at this statement. It was tempting, but none of them approved of it. _

"_You're insane." Yahiko said bluntly. "Your supposed plan won't work, and stay away from us, you weirdo." He exclaimed, and the masked man let out another chuckle at this. _

"_Be that way, but mark my words, I shall come back to this spot every single day, I shall wait until the three of you realize I am correct, and you all will come back to me willingly joining me." The hidden threat lingered in the air, and then the two mysterious men disappeared. _

_And just as the man said, he appeared at that spot every day, for years to come. None of them knew if it truly was an illusion or not, and they didn't want to know. _

_They never did come to the man, they never believed him. _

_~ End of Flashback ~_

* * *

Nagato barely had time to redeem himself before he dodged a fireball aimed for his head, or at least his Deva Path's head. Nagato simply had his Preta Path to absorb the attack. Not even a second later, a fist was flying at his head. Nagato brought his arm up to block, then tested Obito out with a kick aimed for his head. As expected, it went straight through the masked man.

'_I know that he can't keep this up forever, as seen with Konan. He must also have spare eyes, considering he's supposed to be missing an eye, but that doesn't seem to be the case, or at least now.' _Nagato knew that much of his enemy's technique, and he needed to figure out more, and fast.

Obito lunged backwards, and began forming rapid hand signs. Seconds later, numerous small fireballs swirled around them. Not risking even a moment, he sent the fireballs towards the Animal Path. Once again, the Preta Path moved to absorb the attack, but this time Obito was ready. He disappeared, leaving all of the Paths shared vision, and reappeared behind the Naraka Path, but then Nagato, in Deva's body, used Shinra Tensei.

Obito flew towards the Deva Path, while Animal Path slammed his hands on the ground, summoning a large bird with Rinnegan eyes. The bird let out a screech and quickly flew towards Obito, and he sucked in it through his Kamui technique. But as he did that, the Asura path used its chakra cannon. The other paths leaped out of the way, and a blinding white flash of white seemed to envelop the world.

Nagato covered his eyes, and after several agonizing seconds, the flash went away. He stared at the spot Obito was in, and then cursed when he saw it was empty. He had failed with his attack, but he had learnt some useful knowledge while doing so. Nagato now knew to attack as soon as he was finished warping himself with the Kamui.

"You really think you can beat me?" Obito seemed to sneer as he let out a bitter chuckle. "You are foolish, Nagato. You are such a fool, you're a disgrace! You're going to die here!" Obito exclaimed with somewhat maniacal laughter, and he summoned his chains from his alternate dimension.

"You think you can kill me easily? Well, I won't go down without a fight. No, someone has to stop people like you. I may die as a martyr, but it is in the name of good. You, Obito Uchiha, are the epitome of darkness. You think you're going to do this world good, but you'd only send it to ruin. As long as there are human beings, the cycle of hatred, sorrow, and pain continues. But you know what? That's what shapes us as who we are. Without these emotions, we wouldn't be who we truly are. You will _never _understand that." Nagato's voice was deadly calm, and he looked determined as he said this. He knew he was going to die, but he was determined to bring down Obito with him.

On a ledge nearby, Harribel and Yūgao watched the battle and conversation diligently.

"Should we interfere?" Yūgao whispered, and her voice was full of fear and somewhat of awe, as she was watching the most passionate battle she had ever seen.

"No. We know valuable information, so if Nagato….." Harribel didn't finish her sentence, and she shook her head sorrowfully. She knew him such a short time, yet he had grown in her heart in that time period. Looks like her time in the elemental nations softened the seasoned warrior.

"So that's what happened to Obito Uchiha." Harribel glanced at Yūgao, and her eyes were full of unshed tears as well.

"Was he a comrade of yours?" She asked gently, though she recognized the name from Kakashi.

"No, but my former commander, Kakashi Hatake, knew him. Obito was once on a squad with Rin Nohara, Kakashi Hatake, and himself. Their leader was the late fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. On a mission in the third shinobi world war, Team Minato was sent out to destroy the Kannabi Bridge, they succeeded, but Obito was believed to have died in the process. The team was devastated by this loss, and when only Kakashi was left alive, he began to visit the memorial stone every day. He makes excuses, like Obito once did, whenever he was late. But now all seems to be a lie…." Yūgao trailed off sadly as she stared at the masked man, not believing this was the fabled Obito Uchiha.

Harribel remained silent as she stared at the battle unfolding in front of her. She now knew why Kakashi was always so late in her former life, but now wasn't the time to ponder about that. A battle rivaling the Espada's was unfolding in front of her own eyes, and it was impossible to tear her eyes away from the scene.

* * *

~ Back with Obito and Nagato ~

"So those were your final words…..then prepare to DIE!" Obito shouted as he charged Nagato, his chains swinging ominously from the shackle like objects on his wrists.

"Banshō Ten'in." Deva Path's power managed to suck in Obito towards him, but Obito managed to use Kamui while being forced towards Nagato. Just as he was materializing, the Preta Path brought his fist right into his gut. The attack was successful, and Obito was sent flying. He skids along the snow, and then slowly got back up, seemingly unharmed.

"I must admit, you broke down my ability pretty well. But that won't save you." Obito said as he brushed some snow off of his cloak. Nagato then noticed that he had managed to get an Akatsuki cloak, Orochimaru's to be more precise.

Animal Path summoned two rhinoceros towards Obito, but Obito surprised Nagato by using the Wood Release. When Obito slammed his palms on the ground, wood emerged from it and trapped the two struggling animals in it, and then they disappeared in a puff of smoke.

The Human and Naraka paths then charged Obito, and tried to slam him with chakra rods, this obviously failed, and Obito managed to use his shackle like chains to bind them. When Deva Path charged him, he swung the two bound paths at Deva. In response, Nagato used Shinra Tensei to negate the Paths flying towards himself, and continued his run to his target.

Once in front of the masked man, he resorted to Taijutsu attacks. All of his attacks went through, or missed completely, but then Obito kicked him straight in the gut, sending him back.

Nagato wiped a bit of blood off of his chin, and he could tell what Obito was thinking. He knew Obito now thought this fight was going to be useless, so he was going to flee. He was spot on, as Obito began to materialize himself in.

"YOU'RE NOT GETTING AWAY!" Nagato roared as he prepared his Deva Path's ultimate Shinra Tensei technique. He leaped into the air quickly, and all went white for a moment.

A scream rang loudly throughout the land, of outrage and sorrow.

* * *

~ Kage Summit – Kage's Meeting Room ~

"Konohagakure, Kirigakure, Sunagakure, Iwagakure…..All of the Akatsuki members are composed of rogues from your villages! And that's just the damned start of this! I've learnt that some of the previous Kages, including some of you, have all made _use_ of the Akatsuki!" The Raikage, A, yelled out after all of the bodyguards retreated to their posts.

"Using the Akatsuki….?" Gaara pondered out loud, his sea foam eyes wide at the possibility.

"I don't trust any of you! Hell, I don't want to talk to any of you people! The only damn reason I requested to hold this damned Summit was to determine where your loyalties and priorities lie!" A ended his speech angrily, his eyes roaming over the assembled Kage.

"What do you mean, we've used the Akatsuki?" Gaara finally asked the question, and he was intensely staring at the Raikage with question.

"Look at you! You're the Kazekage, and you don't know anything! Go back to your village and ask the old relics!" Gaara's eye twitched at this statement. "They'll tell you that Sunagakure used the 'Akatsuki' during wartime!"

Ōnoki immediately took defense for his own nation. "These days, the Great Nations have all achieved an equal level of peace…..we've gone from expanding our arms to decreasing them. As relations improve and the threats of war grow smaller, a large military becomes a drain on the budget. Of course, there's a risk involved as well. The war's as good as lost. If a war suddenly breaks out, then they're saddled with nothing but inexperienced shinobi to defend them."

Ōnoki didn't need to continue, as Gaara understood and finished for him, "And the only option for mitigating that risk is mercenary groups with no loyalties….in other words, the Akatsuki….."

"It takes time, effort, and money to raise superior shinobi on your own….the Akatsuki members were seasoned professionals in the art of war, charged comparatively little for their services, and they always gave us the best results.." Ōnoki said smugly, obviously thinking this defense would purely back him up the entire way.

"DON'T YOU DARE TRY AND DEFEND YOURSELF, TSUCHIKAGE!" A suddenly burst out, his words harsh and angry. "Sunagakure used Akatsuki for the "Crush Konoha" attack….Orochimaru! Although I admit there is no proof if he was still a part of them at that time period, look what happened to Konoha! The Kazekage and Hokage were both killed as a result!" Tsunade flinched at his words, she still mourned over her sensei's death. "And look what they did! They executed the nine tail's holder!" Tsunade looked down as he glared at her; she truly was ashamed of her actions.

"Kirigakure is the worst of the lot!" A continued, not seeming to care how his words affected the others, "You've been refusing to negotiate, and I've heard rumors that the Akatsuki came to be on your soils!" Mei looked down, and she made a split decision in that moment. She was going to tell the truth. Haku and Ameyuri exchanged glances in the stand; they knew it was about time before Mei was going to reveal the truth.

"I suppose I must clear the air then. I've always had the suspicion that the Yondaime Mizukage was controlled by someone. When the civil war was ended, my suspicions were confirmed. It was a masked man controlling Yagura. I say he is the true threat." When Gaara heard this, he knew she was an ally of Harribel's. It was evident, and the wink she sent in his direction confirmed his suspicions.

"The leader of the Akatsuki is a man named Pein." Tsunade whispered quietly, only giving up that much information. The other Kages appeared shocked at this info, except Mei and Gaara.

"From a neutral point of view, I feel that the Akatsuki leader has studied the lessons of the past extremely well. He had observed how comfortable each nation is with trusting another nation, and has exploited his knowledge to build his power further. At this rate, he'll even get to the Iron country…However; all silver clouds have a lining. It is almost impossible for any of the Five Kage to reach an agreement on any issue. I propose that until the threat of Akatsuki is completely eliminated, the five great hidden villages, for the first time in history, create a single joint military force." Once Mifune finished, the silence was deafening. Just as quickly as it came, the silence was gone with shouts of outrage.

"A joint force?!" A exclaimed, shocked at the mere idea of an alliance. This would truly be an unheard of event, there was too much bitterness and anger between each nation.

"Who would be put in charge of this historic event…?" The Tsuchikage pondered out loud, his eyes wide with the possibilities that could occur with this alliance.

"…I do not know….." Mifune admitted after a moment, a somewhat sheepish look on his face as he admitted this.

"It should be me!" A exclaimed, "I am the only one who doesn't have any members of the Akatsuki in my village!"

"The head of the force should not have their emotions overpower them so easily." Mifune countered against A, much to his annoyance.

Just then, a large pulse of chakra came over the area. Everyone could feel it, even if the event was far away.

Right after that occurred, a samurai rushed into the room, his metal armor clinking from rubbing together.

"Lord Mifune!" He exclaimed, panting from the run, "There is an intruder in the fortress! Only one, but extremely powerful!"

"Damn it…" Mifune muttered as he rose from his seat, "Tell all available units to get to the intruder immediately! If they have hostile intentions, neutralize them as well!"

"Yes sir!" The samurai said as he rushed back out the door, leaving the Kages in a silence.

* * *

~ Konohagakure ~

"This isn't all of our faults! If we had manipulated the Uchiha, we wouldn't have to resort to this!" Koharu cried out as she glared at the assembled clan heads remaining furiously.

"You old fool! We've lost clans, men, and friends from your selfish actions! I lost family, whether they are Branch or Main household, ever since the day you decided to execute the Uzumaki boy." Hiashi Hyūga's words were calm, yet deadly at the same time. Koharu flinched while she was under his hawk like gaze, and his pale eyes burned with a deadly anger within them.

"You did this all for the Uchiha. That was as low as you can go. You focused on one damn kid, one who obviously has had emotional trauma, to do your dirty work. Now look where that got you. The Uchiha left with a masked stranger, identified by the late Sakura Haruno, and the boy now wants to kill us all. You do a damned good job then." Chōza Akimichi said as he shot a dirty glare towards the two advisors of the Hokage. He then turned and left the room scowling, and the remaining clan heads followed after him with mirroring expressions.

"We've failed everyone, even Tobirama-sensei." Homura muttered with his eyes downcast.

"Hiruzen would be ashamed as well. We've truly fallen as low as possible….." Koharu whispered as she moved to the window of the room. In the setting sun, the village of Konohagakure truly looked beautiful and even peaceful for once.

"I hope everyone, from Jiraiya, to Naruto, to Tobirama forgives us…." Homura said with a frown, his eyes reflecting the despair he felt.

* * *

~ Kage Summit- The Land of Snow ~

"HELLO!" Zetsu popped out the ground with a large grin, it almost seemed maniacal for him. "Are you all going to find Sasuke Uchiha? C'mon, have some fun!" He was taunting the Kages, and the Raikage fell for the bait.

"Sasuke Uchiha…..that's a name Killer B drilled into my head…He's the one who got the Kyūbi container killed! B wanted me to avenge his fallen brother, so I shall!" A cried out as he stood up, and then leaped towards White Zetsu. He proceeded to break his neck, leaving the clone silent forever.

"No way! Sasuke's here!" Kankurō said as he glanced towards Gaara, who suddenly had a dark expression on his face. Gaara hated Sasuke for what he did, to Naruto and his village, and after Harribel's story, he wanted to kill him extremely now.

"Why would he be here?" Temari mused out loud, her dark eyes narrowed to slits.

"Sasuke…." Haku murmured, suddenly lost in her own thoughts. She remembered him clearly; as she had stabbed him with so many senbon he resembled a pincushion. "The Sharingan boy…"

"Who's Sasuke?" The Iwa trio whispered to each other, oblivious to the supposed 'Sasuke's' identity.

"Sasuke…..Why did he leave the village?" Tsunade barked out to Gai and Asuma, who merely looked confused.

"Tsunade, the last time he was seen was with Sakura. That was before we had left the village." Asuma said as he resisted the urge to grab a cigar and light it. It would take away all of his worries, but he still had his promise to upkeep.

A second later, a hawk screech came into the room. A hawk appeared out of nowhere, and it bared the Konohagakure leaf symbol on its back. A scroll was strapped to a carrier, and Tsunade felt a sense of dread when she saw it was the fastest summon carrier the Leaf could offer.

"No…" Tsunade muttered as she read the contents of the scroll carefully, and a tear slipped down her cheek. "Sakura….."

The room was dead silent as they stared at the Hokage, waiting for her next words. Tsunade forgot where she was, and slammed her palm down on the desk. It cracked deeply, and her amber orbs shone dangerously.

"Sasuke Uchiha is now an A-rank missing-nin of Konoha. He will be captured for interrogation!" Tsunade declared, and those who didn't know who he was now knew him just from his last name.

"But did you, Raikage, have to kill him?" Mei motioned towards Zetsu's corpse with disdain, "He could have had useful information." She glanced at Ameyuri when she said this, as the woman had a bloodthirsty grin set into place, her hands already moving towards the Kiba on her back.

A didn't answer, but merely smashed the wall down instead. "C, Darui! Let's move out!" He raced through the wreckage eagerly, leaving his two bodyguards behind.

"Sorry about the desk….and the wall…" Darui sheepishly apologized, but was cut off by C's shout of,

"Forget about it, Darui! Let's get the lead out!"

"What a hothead…" Ōnoki muttered from his position, "Even becoming a Kage didn't change him…."

"A masked man that went with Sasuke…..according to Sakura's account, he promised Sasuke advanced eyes…..it's been three days, so Sasuke must've got them if the pact was kept. Assuming if Sakura's final message was correct, then he must have the Mangekyō Sharingan as well…..Kuso!" Tsunade swore as she revealed the contents of the scroll. "A better be careful…."

"But the Mangekyō can only be reached when the user kills a loved one, according to the youthful Kakashi!" Gai shouted as he eyed with leader, wondering how much she has forgotten in her drunken periods.

"Sasuke did just that. The dying Sakura Haruno was found in the woods hours after we left, and she gave one final message before she died." Tsunade's eyes seemed to fill up with tears at the loss of her apprentice.

"Sakura's dead?" Temari whispered from her spot, her eyes were wide with shock. "Damn, must've hurt her badly if Sasuke did it."

"Sasuke truly has fallen. I remember the day when he saved Naruto from Master Zabuza and me…" Haku shook her head sadly as she closed her eyes.

Gaara got up, and then everyone watched him.

"Gaara….?" Temari asked, but she knew the answer. Kankurō sighed as he checked his puppets one final time, and then said,

"Let's go then."

* * *

~ Land of Snow- With Konan ~

'_Come on…hurry up!' _Konan willed her weakened body to move faster, but she was beginning to feel the strain on her body. Being in that bed for so long had left her stiff, and this was the worst time to be stiff.

The snow reminded her Amegakure, ever falling and never ending. But she wasn't used to the numb feeling it left on her face, and it felt somewhat pleasant.

"I wonder if Nagato's thinking what I'm thinking right now…" She whispered as she ran through the snowy path, intent on reaching Nagato.

Konan suddenly had to stop, and fell into an uncontrollable coughing fit. Blood splattered onto the snow below, leaving it a crimson color. It sickened her, but she gathered all of her energy and kept moving.

But after several minutes, she had to stop once more. Konan wasn't finished recovering, so she needed to break, though rather reluctantly. She needed to catch up to Nagato, before it was too late.

The thought of him dying on her terrified her to the core. She would only have Jiraiya left, and both of them would still be grieving. Nagato was the final string to her past, her reason to continue onwards in the wretched world. Nagato was one of her pillars, as she was one of his own. Without each other, they were basically nothing.

That's when she felt it. It was Nagato's chakra, and it was coming from pretty far away. She knew it immediately, what move he was using. He was risking his life for something, and she was sitting in a tree miles away, pondering her past.

"Nagato….you need me….." She whimpered as she saw the blinding light and the roar as the wind speed picked up. "NAGATO!" Her scream echoed through the land, as Konan leaped to her feet and split into paper, rushing towards her childhood friend.

* * *

~ With Nagato and Obito, and Harribel and Yūgao ~

"Yūgao…" Harribel whispered from underneath rock wreckage. She had avoided all the debris, but she was unsure about her younger companion.

"I'm here, and I'm all right. How 'bout you?" Yūgao's cracked voice came from a tree wreckage, and Harribel saw her crouched underneath a stump.

"I'm fine." Harribel stated as she scanned the battlefield for a glimpse of Nagato or Obito. She could see the fallen Deva Path, obviously beyond repair, but that didn't determine Nagato's fate.

"Damn it…" A voice was heard from rock wreckage nearby, and Obito appeared. His mask was gone, revealing his horribly scarred face. His black hair fell onto his face, now that his mask strap was gone.

"You're still not dead…." 2 paths of Pein appeared on top of the rock, the Animal and Human paths and both were glaring down at Obito.

"You thought that small attack would kill me? You thought wrong!" Obito sneered, his eyes shining with contempt. "But now I know that you can swap your conscience to your other paths. Considering your other paths are gone, from your large chakra outage. You are a fool, Nagato Uzumaki."

Proving Obito's point further, the Animal path went onto one knee, and started coughing up blood.

"I….w-w….ill kill…..y-y…ou!" Nagato got out through coughs, and then slammed his palms to the ground. A bird with Rinnegan eyes appeared, and let out a mighty screech before rushing at Obito. Obito quickly crushed the bird's throat in one fluid movement, and then rushed towards Nagato.

Nagato saw this coming, and sent the Human path to intercept Obito, as his Animal path was severely weakened now. Both men were extremely weakened, but neither was going to give up now. Obito couldn't use Kamui, and Nagato barely had any chakra left to aid defend himself.

"Harribel!" Yūgao whisper yelled, "We need to help him!"

Harribel shook her head sadly, there was no hope. "And what? This is his final words; this is how he wanted to die. He knew it when he left Amegakure that he was going to die." Harribel's words were truthful, but Yūgao couldn't help herself. Tears leaked out of the corner of her eyes at the loss soon to come. She had become attached to the man in the short time, as he was kind to the Konoha refugees.

The human path tried to punch Obito, but he dodged. Obito tried to kick the path, but it blocked with an arm, and then swung a fist at Obito. Obito grabbed that fist and swung the entire path onto a rock conveniently nearby. The path seemed slightly put out, but leaped back to its feet immediately.

The Human path lunged once more at Obito, more desperately this time, but it was too late. Obito intercepted it by grabbing it on the throat, and then he decapitated it with his chains.

There was no blood, as it wasn't inhabited by Nagato's conscience. The head fell to the ground, with a small thump, and the hair surrounded it like a halo. That was the end of the Human Path.

Obito stopped right in front of the kneeling Nagato, and then let out a cruel laugh.

"You underestimated me, Nagato. Now, goodbye. I shall put you in a Genjutsu that will slowly kill you. Say hello to Yahiko in hell." Nagato tried to punch him, but was trapped by Obito. Forced to look at him, his eyes glazed over as he was trapped in the Genjutsu.

"NAGATO!" A female voice screamed as she burst into the clearing. A weary Konan looked distraught at the sight before her, and Obito let out another cruel laugh.

"I'll let you say goodbye, to the girl, and to the ladies hiding in the wreckage."

Harribel sighed as she appeared next to the downed Nagato, and Yūgao followed her, sobbing.

Konan collapsed next to Nagato, and her façade was broken for this moment.

"Nagato….I'm so sorry…." She whispered with tears running down her face, and his unfixed orbs tried to look for her.

"My angel, you're awake…" He whispered, but as he did so, a dribble of blood came out of his opened mouth.

The tears fell down Konan's face even faster, and a sob escaped her throat.

"Konan, I'm dying." Nagato stated the obvious, "take over Akatsuki. Change the world. For….Yah….ik….o…..and….m….e….." His eyes slowly slid closed, and Konan screamed as she whipped around to look at Obito, who had an amused expression on his face.

"You bastard!" She screamed as she tried to charge him, but Harribel and Yūgao held her back. Obito only laughed as he picked up Nagato's Deva Path corpse then left via Kamui.

"No…." Konan whispered as she collapsed to her knees in the snow, tears streaming down her face. Her worst fears had come true.

Nagato was gone, never to return.

* * *

**End of Chapter 9- Illusion **

**Please review…..*puppy dog eyes* Zantana gets sad when there are few reviews…..XD .**

**Ooh, so's Konan's now the leader of Akatsuki, there is political unrest in Konoha, and the Kage Summit has reached a twisted turn with the arrival of Sasuke, who seemingly has teamed up with a masked man, killed Sakura, and has an advanced Sharingan! What shall happen next in "Retribution"? Only I, Zantana, shall know! XD ^_^  
**

**Don't expect another update as fast as this one though….. .**


	10. Chapter 10

_This is posted on all of my stories that have not been completed. _

_I'm discontinuing all stories I have put up so far on this site. I can't continue any further, I have no time anymore. I'm too busy with school work, my job, and suffering from a major depression that just keeps coming back to haunt me. _

_So I'm sorry everybody. Call me awful, or whatever you like, but I can't do this anymore. _

_Maybe I'll put stories up again one day, but not just today. Maybe it'll be in real life, maybe here. _

_If you would like to know information about the story endings, then just P.M. me. Or if you would like to adopt one of my stories, P.M. and let me know. Plagiarizing will not be tolerated with me, nor will anyone else would like it. _

_I'll see you all one day, in the distant future. _


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